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Somalia

Somalia Crisis Response Plan 2020

Attachments

Funding Required $82,968,500

People In Need 5,200,000

Target Beneficiaries 2,088,200

IOM Vision

Since 2006, IOM Somalia has set a strong record on the delivery of frontline services to crisisaffected populations, while steadily developing models and partnerships for longer-term recovery and migration governance. IOM is strategically well-placed to operationalise the humanitarian-development-peace nexus through its vast portfolio. IOM aims to catalyse programming from multiple units to provide more holistic support to communities in a way that reinforces government legitimacy and enables the government to deliver services.

Context Analysis

Somalia has seen continued conflict since the outbreak of civil war in 1991. Since the formation of the Federal Government of Somalia in 2012, the country has made substantial progress towards restoring peace and security. While significant advances have been made in the battle against Al-Shabaab (AS), including the return of state control to main towns across Somalia, the presence of AS continues to fuel conflict and sustain a persistent state of insecurity in Somalia. Although reduced in size, armed actors remain a serious security threat to the country, with the capacity for large scale attacks and control over populations in rural areas.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict as deliberate targets and unintended victims.
In addition to conflict at the local, national and international levels, Somalia is highly susceptible to the effects of climate change and extreme weather conditions. With more than 80 per cent of its landmass designated as arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL), Somalia suffers periods of extended drought, flash floods, erratic rainfall, disruption to the monsoon seasons, strong winds, cyclones, sandstorms and dust storms.

In Somalia, the drought exacerbates conflict by increasing competition for resources. AlShabaab feeds off these tensions and exploits vulnerabilities. Conflict worsens the impact of the drought by depleting family assets, disrupting traditional coping mechanisms, including migration and impeding humanitarian access. Conflict and drought force internal displacement, which the National Development Plan (NDP) 2017-2019 recognizes as a cause of poverty (88 per cent of those living in IDP sites are poor), which further erodes resilience. Significantly reducing poverty, and strengthening the resilience of vulnerable households, communities and institutions are also the main objectives of the NDP 2020-2024.

The first half of 2019 was affected by drought due to below-average rainfall during the 2019 Gu’ season (April-June), causing widespread crop failure and accelerated decline in livestock productivity. Conversely, heavy rainfall in October and November 2019 caused severe flooding; riverine areas along the Juba and Shabelle rivers were inundated, and flash flooding was reported in Somaliland and Banadir regions. The cumulative flooding has affected just over half a million people across the country, including 370,000 who have been displaced from their homes (UNOCHA, November 2019). Farmland, infrastructure, and roads have been destroyed in some of the worst-hit areas in Hirshabelle, Jubaland and South-West States. Displacement as a result of drought, flooding and conflict is used as a coping mechanism within Somalia as people crowd into cities and towns in search of humanitarian services. Already displaced populations are highly vulnerable due to social exclusion and lack of connectedness – they are often minority clans, women and children. Most IDP sites are overcrowded and lack basic infrastructure; living conditions are poor and services are overstretched.

While humanitarian actors are increasingly focusing on bridging humanitarian and development assistance, needs for immediate life-saving assistance remain vast. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) 2020, 5.2 million people, 42 per cent of the Somali population, are in need of assistance (including 3.5 million non-displaced; 1.7 million displaced by conflict, insecurity, forced evictions, droughts, and floods; 108,000 returnees; and 42,000 refugees.). This represents a 24 per cent increase compared to the 2019 HNO (4.2 million people in need).

The protracted nature of Somalia’s crisis complicates the pursuit of long-term recovery and durable solutions, but it also renders it imperative that efforts to ameliorate the challenges begin immediately. Otherwise, Somalia’s IDPs and returnees may face higher obstacles to recovery, as their reserves, assets and social capital are depleted. Moreover, progress on the governance agenda, reinforcing government leadership that is committed to sustainable and equitable development, recovery of some areas from Al-Shabaab, and a mobilized diaspora represent a unique opportunity for concerted action.