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Somalia

Somalia - Situation report 4 December 2017

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IN NUMBERS

37%
2017 gu season cereal production was 37% below average – following 50% and 70% falls in production due to drought during the 2016 gu and deyr seasons, respectively.

3.3 million
People face severe acute food insecurity (IPC phases 3 and 4)

3 million
Almost 50% of people experiencing stressed to emergency levels of food insecurity are rural. 3 out of 4 people facing famine are rural.

860 000
People displaced due to drought since January 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Rural livelihoods are people’s best defence against famine. Interventions that reinforce rural livelihoods meet immediate food needs, mitigate displacement pressures, reduce the overall humanitarian burden and lay the groundwork for recovery.

  • FAO is delivering large-scale, strategic combinations of assistance to rural people at high risk of hunger, providing them with cash transfers for food and water purchases, plusthe means to continue farming and veterinary care to keep their animals alive.

  • Massive livestock losses – which are severely impacting household food security and nutrition in pastoral communities – will require many seasons to recover. Similarly, farmers will need sustained support to recover from consecutive poor harvests.

  • Livelihoods will require sustained support for the remainder of 2017 and through 2018 to avert famine and begin recovery.
    Livelihoods must be restored in order to make lasting improvements to food security (which will remain fragile for some time).

  • Humanitarian efforts must help farming communities to remain in rural areas and encourage early IDP returns.