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Somalia

WFP Somalia Country Brief, August 2024

Attachments

In Numbers

  • 1.7 million people assisted in August.

  • USD 12.2 million assistance delivered via cash-based transfers in August.

  • 3,318 mt of in-kind food assistance distributed in August.

  • USD 225.9 million net funding requirements across all activities for the next six months (September 2024 – February 2025).

Situation Update

• While three consecutive seasons of average to above-average rainfall have helped crop and livestock production, aiding the gradual recovery of households severely affected by the drought, high food assistance needs remain due to ongoing conflict, severe flooding, high food prices, and limited income opportunities. 6.9 million Somalis are estimated to need assistance in 2024. The latest Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) food security and acute malnutrition assessment results show that 3.6 million people are facing acute food insecurity this month, while 1.6 million children under five are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition.

• After the Gu rainy season (April–June) ended, most regions in Somalia have remained dry. However, continued rainfall in the central Ethiopian Highlands caused a sharp rise in water levels along the Shabelle River, leading to an episode of riverine flooding affecting eight villages in Belet Weyne district in August. The flood displaced over 2,400 people and submerged nearly 200 hectares of farmland. Early forecasts, driven by La Niña conditions, indicate a higher likelihood of below-average rainfall and a delayed onset of rains during the October-December Deyr rainy season in southern and central parts of the country. Coupled with abovenormal temperatures, this is expected to lead to severe soil moisture loss and negatively affect crop and fodder production, potentially threatening food security and the livelihoods of communities dependent on rainfed agriculture and pastoralism.

Operational Updates

Humanitarian food assistance

• WFP reached 1.1 million people with humanitarian food assistance in August, distributing USD 12 million cash and 1,950 mt of in-kind food.

• WFP collaborates with national authorities at the federal and state levels, as well as field-level partners, local communities, and stakeholders, to ensure that assistance reaches those most in need.
As part of this effort, WFP and its partners have been conducting an enhanced full-household registration exercise aiming to optimize resource allocation and service delivery. In August alone, WFP registered 122,000 people across Mogadishu, Dolow, Galmudug, Puntland, and Somaliland.

Nutrition

• WFP provided nutrition support to 535,000 people in August, including children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls, distributing USD 198,000 in cash and 1,368 mt of nutritious commodities. Of this, malnutrition treatment support reached 236,000 people while malnutrition prevention support reached 299,000 people.

• WFP is supporting the Federal Ministry of Health with the design of the new WHO guidelines for the management and prevention of acute malnutrition in Somalia. In August, WFP, the Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF and various other international and national organizations participated in a two-day workshop, contributing toward in-depth technical discussion on the design of new WHO guidelines against the complex contextual backdrop of Somalia. WFP is also engaging with the Nutrition Cluster on the new WHO guidelines’ design for added technical support and guidance, and with the aim of enhancing collaboration.

Gender transformative programming & Community engagement

• WFP is investing in transformative actions to address the root causes of gender inequality by tackling social norms and structural barriers.
In August, a three-day workshop in Somaliland brought together 42 attendees, including representatives from local and international NGOs. The workshop focused on strengthening commitments to integrate gender strategies into humanitarian assistance, developing actionable frameworks for NGOs to enhance collaboration on women's empowerment, and raising awareness of gender programming challenges and opportunities. The goal was to foster innovative solutions for community resilience and sustainable development.

• In August WFP also established a Community Engagement Taskforce, including members from the Government, CCCM and UNHCR – a collaborative initiative to enhance community outreach efforts and engagement, whilst simultaneously strengthening the support systems in place for affected populations.

Joint Resilience Programme

• The Joint Resilience Programme (JRP), led by WFP and UNICEF, makes use of an inter-agency referral system to facilitate multi-dimensional support provision and improves access to integrated social services like nutrition, water, sanitation, and education, while boosting community livelihoods through asset creation and strengthening service delivery systems.

• By August, the nutrition support component under this programme identified and treated 13,400 cases of moderate acute malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women through the targeted supplementary feeding program. Furthermore, 20,600 people were enrolled in the Maternal Child Health and Nutrition program, aiming to prevent malnutrition among children under two and pregnant and breastfeeding women. 28,500 people (78 percent female) also received targeted social behavior change messages on nutrition through health and nutrition facilities supported under the JRP in both Galmudug and Puntland.

UNHAS and Logistics operations

• In August, the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) carried 611 passengers and 17 mt of light cargo across Somalia and assisted 59 organizations in accessing 42 locations, including hard-to-reach areas. UNHAS engages with national aviation stakeholders to improve aviation performance, safety, and knowledge exchange with the aim of further achieving efficiency gains in humanitarian air service provision. UNHAS also trained nominated NGO airfield focal points and distributed windsock in hard-to-reach locations, such as Bulo Burte, with the motive of enhancing safety for inbound and outbound aircrafts and quality of service provision to the humanitarian community.

• WFP, as the lead agency for the Logistics Cluster in Somalia, has supported the establishment of a Logistics Working Group (LWG) which focuses primarily on a collaborative information management to address potential logistics and access constraints in Somalia arising as a result of ATMIS drawdown. The working group is composed of representatives from various UN agencies (including WFP) and international and local NGOs.