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Humanitarian partner helping to protect dignity among IDPs in Galmudug

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Ambaro Ilmi, a 55-year-old mother of seven in Galmudug State, abandoned her home in Harardhere District, Galgaduud Region and moved to Higale site for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Cadaado District about two months ago when drought intensified.

“My family relied heavily on farming,” she said. “After four consecutive failed rains, no harvest and nothing to feed my children, we left in July with the hope of getting assistance in Higale from the government and humanitarian actors.”

Ambaro is one of more than 300,000 people – mainly pastoralists – who have been displaced from their rural villages by severe drought and conflict in Galgaduud since late May, according to the Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN). Most of the displaced live in settlements that lack basic facilities in towns likes Cadaado, Cabuduwaaq and Dhuusamarreeb. They depend largely on humanitarian assistance.

“We had no shelter or utensils and relied on borrowing from neighbors until Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC) gave us plastic sheets for shelter, utensils, mats and other basic items,” said Ambaro. “These items will protect our dignity and privacy. My family and other displaced people are thankful of the support.”

The national NGO is supported by the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) and provides shelter and non-food items (NFIs) to IDPs in Galmudug to improve their living conditions. In Galgaduud, the NGO is targeting 4,500 displaced families (27,000 people) in Cadaado, Dhuusamarreeb and Guri Ceel Districts.

Nuura Ahmed, another drought-displaced mother of seven, said: “SSWC gave us shelter items and other basic items 15 days after we arrived in Higale. This was a good start for my family. We are, however, struggling with other needs including food and basic health care.”

To complement the NFIs distribution, the NGO is trucking water to pastoralists in rural villages in Galmudug Region. More than 30,000 people in Galmudug have received humanitarian support, including water, from the NGO in the last five months.

The historic failure of four consecutive rainy seasons, persistent conflict, displacement, and high food prices have pushed Somalia to the brink of famine. The drought has affected about 7.8 million people, nearly half of the total estimated population. More than 1.1 million people have been displaced, almost three quarters of them since the beginning of 2022.

National NGOs account for most of the projects in the Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan, yet they rarely receive direct funding. While 60 per cent of the US$54 million disbursed by the SHF so far this year has been allocated to national NGOs, this represents a mere 5 per cent of HRP funding received. More funding needs to be channeled to national partners to meet rising needs.

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