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Somalia

WFP Somalia Country Brief, September 2017

Attachments

Highlights

  • Sustained humanitarian assistance is critical in averting famine, as forecasts point to a below- average Deyr (October- December) rainy season that will further worsen the food security situation

  • WFP requires USD 239 million in order to continue providing relief assistance and lifesaving nutrition services to the most vulnerable people in drought affected areas for the next six months (October 2017-March 2018)

Operational Updates

  • The latest rainfall forecast announced by FEWSNET on 29 September points to below average rainfall over the October to December Deyr season. Somalia has experienced three consecutive seasons of failed rains since the 2016 March- May Gu season. This has led to high levels of acute food insecurity, made worse by extreme drought conditions. Another poor rainy season will continue to negatively impact pasture regeneration, water availability and the Deyr crop harvest.

  • Although the humanitarian response to the drought in 2017 has been robust, two consecutive years of severe drought have contributed to the deterioration of the food security situation, at an alarming rate. The level of acute food insecurity remains high, especially among the 3.1 million Somalis projected to be in crisis and emergency (IPC 3 and 4) through to the end of the year. Malnutrition rates are similarly high with the national Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate rising well above the emergency threshold at 17.4 percent (from 14.9 percent in January 2017).

  • In response to the severe drought, WFP’s scale up in 2017 has been immense. In September, WFP reached 2.27 million people (five times the number of people reached in January), with emergency food and cash-based assistance. Of these, 618,000 mothers and children received nutrition support through WFP’s curative and preventative programs.

  • Over half of WFP’s assistance throughout the year has been distributed through cash transfers in areas where markets are functioning. This was supported by the significant expansion of WFP’s retailer network (with an increase of over 60 percent from January to August 2017). Where markets were not sufficient, WFP continued to deliver assistance using in-kind food, transported by air together with nutritious products.

  • In the second phase of its drought response, WFP will continue to provide emergency relief in order to meet the acute needs that persist countrywide. Geographical coverage and distribution of assistance will be re-adjusted to scale up emergency relief in hotspot areas as well as transition some existing relief beneficiaries towards recovery and resilience in locations where conditions permit. WFP will also sustain the current level of nutrition response in most locations, while increasing the response level and integration of nutrition services in malnutrition hotspots.