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Somalia Humanitarian Bulletin, April 2021

Countries
Somalia
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

HIGHLIGHTS

• On 25 April, the Federal Government of Somalia in consultation with the United Nations declared a drought. More than 80 per cent of the country is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions. On 26 April, a High-Level Roundtable on the situation was co-hosted by the EU and OCHA.

• COVID-19 continues to impact Somalia. As of 29 April, more than 121,700 people in Somalia had received their first doses of the Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccine that was rolled out on 16 March, but the uptake remains low.

• Air access to Berdale has been restored with the first flight since May 2020 landing on 25 April, carrying shelter and non-food items for displaced families. The resumption of flights will enable humanitarian relief supplies, and travel for humanitarians and commercial travelers.

• Displacement due to conflict and violence has escalated in Somalia with over 250,000 people recently displaced in Banadir, Berdale and Baadweyn. These include nearly 200,000 people who have been displaced around Mogadishu since 15 April.

KEY FIGURES

5.9M People in need of humanitarian assistance

2.9M People displaced by conflict and natural disasters across the country

116K People displaced by water shortages since October 2020

1.6M People currently experiencing acute food insecurity.

13.9K Cases of COVID19 reported since March 2020

121.7K Covid-19 vaccines administered

SITUATION OVERVIEW

80 per cent of Somalia facing moderate to severe drought conditions

The Federal Government of Somalia in consultation with the United Nations declared a drought on 25 April. More than 80 per cent of the country is currently experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions. Key factors include below average October to December 2020 Deyr rains, followed by a harsh and warmer than normal January to March Jilaal season and a delayed and poor start of the current April to June Gu season. The worst affected areas include parts of Somaliland and Puntland, central regions and Gedo region. Between October 2020 and March, over 116,000 people were displaced by severe water shortages and drought conditions between October 2020 and March 2021.

“We are at the brink of a human catastrophe amidst an already dire humanitarian situation,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator, Adam Abdelmoula in a 25 April joint statement with the Federal Government. “The cost of inaction is far too dire and the time to take action is now. Urgent and immediate collective action, including scaling-up of response and funding, is needed now to mitigate a full-scale disaster.”

Somalia is on the front line of climate change and the frequency of climate-related disasters is increasing rapidly. The country has, since 1990, experienced more than 30 climate-related hazards, including 12 droughts and 19 floods – triple the number of climate-related hazards experienced between 1970 and 1990. In 2021, drought conditions are expected to increase displacement and have a lasting negative impact on livelihoods and food security outcomes. At least 3.4 million people are projected to be affected by drought conditions by the end of 2021, of whom around 380,000 are expected to be displaced.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.