The United Nations, humanitarian partners and the Somali government have Tuesday released the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for Somalia, which seeks US$1.6 billion to help 5.2 million of the 6.9 million people in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance and protection this year. Although a historic multi-year drought ended in 2023 and Somalia successfully averted famine, humanitarian needs in the country remain high.
“In addition to climatic shocks, conflict and insecurity, widespread poverty and disease outbreaks will continue to drive humanitarian needs this year,” said George Conway, Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.
“Humanitarian and development partners will strengthen complementarity and work towards collective outcomes that will help reduce needs, risks and vulnerabilities, increase resilience and ensure that future shocks do not lead to catastrophe.”
In 2023, Somalia was hit by multiple shocks including devastating drought, unprecedented heavy rains and flooding, and new displacement. Although the rains have brought some relief, it will be years before the historic drought is overcome. The number of people affected by heavy floods - both riverine and flash flooding - is estimated to be 2.5 million, including 1.2 million displaced from their homes.
The 2020-2023 drought, which came to an end in the second quarter of last year, was one of the worst on record. The heavy flooding caused by the Deyr rainy season - exacerbated by El Niño - from October to December was the worst witnessed in decades.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), humanitarian needs will remain high in Somalia in 2024 due to underlying drivers and recurrent shocks including climatic events, conflict and insecurity, widespread poverty - 55 percent of the Somali population live below the national poverty line- and disease outbreaks.
As a result, millions are continuing to suffer from hunger and malnutrition.
While the situation has improved since last year, 4.3 million people — nearly one quarter of the population — remain acutely food insecure in Somalia. Two in five children under the age of 5 suffer from acute malnutrition. Some 3.8 million people are internally displaced, and a cholera outbreak is spreading in several areas., with more than 18,000 cases reported in 2023.
“More than 80 percent of the displaced are women and children and face serious protection risks,” said Mohamud Moalim, Commissioner at the Somalia Disaster Management Agency (SODMA).
“The Somali Government is concerned about the humanitarian situation that is worsened by climate-induced crises. We are determined to address the underlying causes of Somalia’s crises, improve livelihoods and build long-term durable solutions,” he added
Due to severe underfunding and pressure from donor countries, aid agencies will this year implement a more rigorously targeted response, with a focus on assisting women, men, and children in ‘extreme’ and ‘catastrophic’ levels of need, meaning the severe needs of millions of others will remain unmet. The funding requirements reflect a 37 percent drop from $2.6 billion that was required to meet the needs of 7.6 million people in 2023.
Humanitarian operations in Somalia remain severely underfunded. As of January 2024, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Somalia was only 44 percent funded. When funding is scarce, aid agencies are having to prioritize the most vulnerable in areas with the greatest severity of needs. Though the number of people in need has decreased from 8.25 million last year, the percentage of people targeted has also decreased from 92 percent in 2023 to 75 percent in 2024 due to anticipated underfunding.
Somalia, which has been emerging from the historic drought, that began in 2020, is one of many countries that continues to face a heightened risk of flooding, drought, and extreme heat in the coming months stimulated by the El Niño phenomenon. The weather event that caused heavy rains and flooding from October to December 2023 is expected to prolong, which will likely lead to above-normal rainfall in March and early April (Gu rainy season), with the risk of new flash floods and river flooding.
El Niño is expected to last at least until April 2024, influencing weather patterns and contributing to a further spike in temperatures both on land and in the ocean, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Further information
Full text: Somalia 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, released January 30, 2024
https://reliefweb.int/attachments/8ef2c38f-e21a-4f23-ad9d-bb6452b804fe/Somalia%202024%20Humanitarian%20Needs%20and%20Response%20Plan%20%28HNRP%29.pdf