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Droughts in Somalia are becoming more frequent and prolonged, linked to the global climate crisis, experts say.
Somalis are no strangers to hardship, having endured years of drought, conflict and instability. The past year saw a devastating desert locust infestation, extensive flooding, and COVID-19, bringing new health and socioeconomic problems. Now, the country is again facing a serious water shortage, which is causing the death of livestock, increasing hunger and the inability to cultivate, causing the flight of more than 80,000 people in recent months.
Droughts in Somalia are becoming more frequent and prolonged, linked to the global climate crisis, experts say.
Salima Ali, a mother of three, is one of those who fled, traveling from the Afmadow district in the Juba region of southern Somalia to Baardheere, a town further north, in search of water and grass for her flock. So far, you haven’t found any.
“If aid does not arrive or the rains fail, our livestock will die and we will have nothing left for our livelihood,” he told the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA.
The Baardheere district has seen the arrival of hundreds of families from Gedo and other regions due to the water shortage in Jubaland state.
Water scarcity
Somalia has two rainy seasons, called Gu and Deyr. Gu rains, which last from April to June, are expected to be below average this year. Water scarcity is already critical; Meager stocks from Deyr’s already scant rains from October to December are contributing to incredibly high levels of hunger across the country. One in five Somalis – 2.7 million people – will face critical levels of hunger between April and June, say experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations who monitor developing hunger crises in Somalia.
In some heavily affected areas, such as the Hiraan region of Hirshabelle state in south-central Somalia, nearly one in two people suffer from water shortages. In total, 34 of Somalia’s districts are affected. Somaliland and Puntland in the north are worse off, as are coastal states in the north and Jubaland state in the south.
“There was a severe drought here in 2017 and people lost their livelihoods,” said Ahmed Hassan, governor of the northern region of Sanaag. “Another drought would be devastating.”
Pre-drought conditions have brought difficult survival options for Salima. She explains: “Two of my children went to school but I had to bring them with me. We had to choose between education and trying to save our remaining livestock. “
In many areas of Jubaland, animals are dying. Humanitarian assessments have confirmed the depletion of water sources and the lack of pastures, which are critical to the survival of the animals.
Farhiyo, a 48-year-old mother of 10 children, left Qaydara village in Hobyo district after losing 20 goats due to lack of water. He arrived in the city of Gaalkacyo last week.
“My husband went to Mogadishu [the capital] three months ago, leaving me in charge of the family, ”he said. “I live in a makeshift shelter with my seven children and my three girls.”
Farhiyo is not alone. The settlement is now home to 385 displaced families from 48 villages in the region.
Solutions
Local authorities ask for help. In Galmudug, in central Somalia, the Ministry of Livestock has asked aid agencies to help transport water and animal feed to the most affected families; help herders and farmers repopulate their diminished herds; and give cash transfers to people who have nothing.
In Somaliland, authorities have called for help drilling wells, especially in schools, as water shortages will worsen sanitation problems, lead to disease outbreaks and, worst of all, make it difficult to comply with COVID prevention measures -19.
Aid workers have created a flood task force and a national coordination system, bringing together humanitarian, development and peace organizations. In turn, local committees are coordinating medium- and long-term responses to floods with local authorities, including transboundary water management issues and nature-based solutions.
To help families get through the next few weeks, humanitarian agencies have so far trucked water to nearly 50,000 homes, reaching some 300,000 people. But distribution is not easy: water trucks are notoriously expensive, and hazards are involved in unsafe areas.
OCHA has allocated US $ 13 million from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund and is about to release $ 7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). CERF will funnel another $ 20 million into early action to help vulnerable Somalis before they feel the full impact of the failed rains. Evidence shows that taking action before hunger reaches crisis proportions saves lives, reduces suffering and costs.
The erratic weather is expected to continue throughout the year, said Adam Abdelmoula, Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia. The priority is to take early action to anticipate adverse outcomes and build resilience so that Somalia can withstand future shocks, he added, noting that ultimately the solution must be comprehensive and encompass not just humanitarian and development action. , but also peacebuilding action.
