Almost 90% of Somalia is currently experiencing severe drought after three consecutive dry seasons, with some areas are experiencing their driest season in nearly four decades.
Almost 3.5 million people are already acutely food insecure and millions more may go hungry by next January. Pastoralists’ chances of finding grazing land and planting next season’s crops are vanishing without any sign of relief.
According to Amjad Ali, Oxfam Country Director in Somalia, people in Jubaland in the South, Gedo, Mudug, Nuugal, Bari, Toghdheer, and Sool have been the hardest hit.
“Some have already experienced intense drought for more than a year and have had to watch their livestock, crops, and savings perish in front of their eyes. They urgently need lifesaving water, food, and cash,” he said.
Oxfam also explained that many farmers and pastoralists narrated harrowing stories of how the drought had devastated their lives.
Maryan Abdullahi, a woman farmer living on the outskirts of Dudumaale village said, “We did not receive rain for two seasons. Our livestock and our own lives are in danger. In Dudumaale we used to fetch water from berkeds [traditional Somali water cisterns], but all berkeds are empty right now. The drum of water costs $4 which we cannot afford.”
Natural water sources are drying up, pushing up the cost of potable water. Last October, the price of a 200-litre water drum increased by 45 per cent in Gaalkacyo, Mudug Region, by 70 per cent in Jilib, Middle at Juba Region, and by 172 per cent in Garowe, Nugaal Region.
By 2022, the combination of climate-fueled drought, ongoing conflict, locusts, and COVID-19 will leave 7.7 million Somalis in need of humanitarian assistance. This is a 30% increase since 2021.
With more than half of its population suffering from malnutrition and hunger, Somalia already ranks highest in the world Global Hunger Index.
Khadra Yusuf Saleban, a 48-year-old displaced woman from Bali-docol camp, said, “I have many fears about [having no] water and food for my children and my parents. Our livestock is the backbone of our life. I lost it all in the last drought. Without water and food, there will be death to our livestock and to our families, particularly children and elderly.”
Oxfam and partners have already reached nearly 185,000 of the most vulnerable people across the country, with clean water and sanitation, food, and rehabilitation programs.
Aydrus Daar, Executive Director of WASDA, one of Oxfam’s local partner organizations, said: “I have been involved in droughts since 1991 and I have never seen a drought that has impacted people as badly as has this one.
Many pastoralists have lost 100% of their livestock. This has never occurred in living history. Our biggest concern is an imminent famine.”
Ali added that in the 2011 drought crisis, an estimated 50,000–100,000 people lost their lives. Despite the warnings, the international humanitarian system did too little too late. We must make sure that history does not repeat itself. We must act now. More than a third of the humanitarian appeal for Somalia this year is unfounded.
Oxfam and partners aim to double the number of people they reach in the next six months, providing the most vulnerable people in South Central Somalia, Somaliland, and Puntland with lifesaving water, food, and cash.
Oxfam’s work also aims to help communities rebuild their lives and adapt to the cyclical nature of climate disasters.
In order to boost Oxfam’s humanitarian response in Somalia and save lives, it urgently needs $15 million.
