Somalia Humanitarian Fund allocates US$9.26 million for floods response

The Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) has released US$9.26 million to scale up priority life-saving assistance to nearly 300,000 people affected by floods in Somalia. These critical funds, part of the SHF 2020 Reserve Allocation, will support national and international non-governmental partners operating in Banadir, Hiraan, Lower Juba, Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle regions through integrated and Cluster-specific interventions.

“Funding from the SHF will enable aid organizations to scale up and sustain life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable flood-affected communities in the worst-affected areas in the country,” said Mr. Adam Abdelmoula, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. “As the Deyr season persists, continuous donor funding will be needed to boost humanitarian operations and support recovery across Somalia.”

A total of $8.18 million from the Reserve will be allocated towards priority interventions to provide food assistance, non-food items and emergency shelter, support for health facilities, water services, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). In addition, the SHF funds will support critical protection services with emphasis on child protection and gender-based violence. The funds will also support the Logistics Cluster to ensure timely delivery of essential humanitarian goods and personnel in hard-to-reach and underserved areas. Some $1.08 million of the allocation will support integrated health and nutrition activities as well as integrated education, child protection and WASH activities.

“Already, vulnerable communities due to persistent climatic shocks, locust infestation and the COVID-19 pandemic, are facing severe food and water scarcity and are at risk of deadly communicable diseases such as cholera outbreak and acute watery diarrhoea (AWD),” said Mr Abdelmoula. “With limited resources and funding, the humanitarian agencies in Somalia are overstretched and in need of urgent support to provide timely and deliberate response.”

The SHF - funded by Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg,

Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UN Foundation – has allocated $40.2 million to Somalia to-date.

The 2020 Deyr rainy season has started with moderate to significantly heavy rains reported in Puntland and central regions of Hiraan, Bakool, Galgaduud, Mudug, Nugaal and southern areas of Sool region. The communities living in the riverine areas along Juba and Shabelle rivers are at high risk of flooding. As heavy rains are expected to continue in November and December, scaling up of livelihoods, improving and supporting health services and WASH facilities is vital in order to prevent further deterioration in food security and escalation of the public health crisis.

Link to original press release.