Attachments
CLIMATE SHOCKS IN SOMALIA
Somalia’s prolonged humanitarian crisis is marked by recurrent climate shocks like droughts, floods and tropical storms, compounded by conflict and insecurity. Extreme weather events destroy crops and kill livestock, disrupting livelihoods. This worsens hunger and drives internal displacement, as people abandon failed farmlands and pastures – as in the 2020-2023 drought, which caused over 1.6 million displacements by early 2023. Flash floods in April 2023 drove further displacement, with El Niño expected to cause more flooding by year’s end.
Integrated risk management tools like anticipatory action and risk insurance are powerful in protecting vulnerable populations from the impact of climate shocks. They work by linking pre-committed funding to resilience building plans prior to forecasted shocks, a more cost-effective approach than responding to crisis; one study on Somalia conducted by the U.S. Agency for International Development indicated that every US$1 invested in building resilience saved up to US$ 3 in humanitarian aid and loss prevention.1
ANTICIPATORY ACTION
Anticipatory action refers to interventions that:
• are supported by pre-agreed finance
• are triggered once pre-defined thresholds are crossed in weather forecasts and risk analyses
• are implemented prior to forecasted hazards to prevent or mitigate negative impacts on vulnerable communities before they become severe (e.g., by equipping households to undertake preventative measures)
• require coordination across government and humanitarian actors, including via strong national/ subnational institutions, for effective execution.