Some displaced people have gone back home but need assistance to rebuild lives Moderate to heavy Deyr (October-December) rainfall continued across Somalia and the Ethiopian highlands in November. As a result, water levels in the Shabelle and Juba rivers have remained above normal. The FAO-managed Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM) project forecasts that the northern, central and coastal regions of Somalia will again receive heavy rains in early December. There is a high risk of further flooding along the Shabelle River. In Belet Weyne district, flood water levels have reduced in certain areas enabling some of the 231,000 displaced people to return home. Partners report that the returnees will need livelihoods support to rebuild their lives because their houses are destroyed, farm produce washed away and irrigation infrastructure damaged.

Since October, floods have affected just over half a million people mainly in Hirshabelle, Jubaland and South West states. Several roads are damaged including Kismayo to Kenya, Mogadishu to Jowhar, Sabiid to Mareerey and Caluula, Bossaso to Garoowe; hindering the delivery of foodstuffs and other commodities.

In Banadir region, where flash floods have affected about 3,600 people, shelters have been destroyed in Siigaale neighborhood in Hodan district. Prices of basic commodities have increased in Bay and Bakool regions in South West State due to access constraints caused by heavy rains. Traditional underground grain storage facilities have been damaged.

In areas where water is stagnant, concerns are growing about the risk of water-borne diseases. This includes more than 30 villages in Jubaland. In Dhobley town near the Somalia Kenya border, heavy rains in mid-November destroyed 60 semi-permanent shelters and 146 latrines. Destruction of latrines has worsened the already precarious sanitation situation. In Afmadow district, flash floods in mid-November reportedly affected 17,000 people and damaged schools. Offices and shops in several towns including Afmadow, Dhobley, Qoqani, Tabta and Diif have been flooded by water. In Mogadishu area, stagnant water is reported in IDP settlements. In Belet Weyne, over 2,000 pupils have missed school because 86 learning facilities are damaged.

The recent floods will have a long-term impact on livelihoods and food security. Satellite image analysis indicates that nearly 207,300 hectares of land along Shabelle and Juba rivers, of which nearly 110,000 hectares are agricultural land, were inundated during the months of October and November, according to SWALIM. The destruction of farmland, agricultural produce and infrastructure along the river basins will worsen the already fragile food security situation in Somalia ahead of the Jilaal dry season that usually begins in mid-December. Riverine areas produce much of the food grown in Somalia.

On a positive note, the ongoing rains have replenished water sources, improved pasture growth and reduced water stress. Riverine farmers can make strategic use of the flood water to secure a good off-season harvest, before it dries up in the next month. However, local farmers urgently need to be supported with distribution of off-season seeds to mitigate food insecurity. The extended season has also brought extended agricultural labor opportunities and related wages. An analysis by Fewsnet shows that the reduction in rainfall intensity from early to mid-November in some agropastoral areas facilitated high levels of cultivation, which is likely to lead to average Deyr cereal production. In contrast, continued rainfall and slowly receding flood waters are anticipated to delay recessional cultivation and sustain low labor demand in flood-affected areas. After flood waters recede, an above-average, off-season maize harvest is most likely but will be delayed until March.

The newly arisen humanitarian needs due to floods have been estimated at $72.5 million in the Floods Response Plan, launched on 23 November. The Plan remains largely underfunded, with only $25 million being made available through pooled funds and bilateral contributions. At least another $47.5 million is required to address immediate needs of flood-affected communities. The Flood Response Plan is available on ReliefWeb: https://bit.ly/2PfLt2P

The two pooled funds, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF), have released a combined $18.7 million to scale up flood response and reach the most vulnerable in the worst-affected areas. The $8 million released from CERF has allowed UN agencies to provide time-critical assistance through the provision of food assistance, deployment of integrated rapid response teams, support for health facilities, emergency shelter and non-food items (NFIs) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. CERF funds are also being used to support the UN Humanitarian Air Service to move essential humanitarian goods and personnel in areas that have been hard to reach due to floods.

The $10.7 million from the SHF, channeled exclusively through non-governmental partners, has been used to provide relief to flood-affected communities through integrated and cluster-specific interventions aimed at providing immediate access to food, health, nutrition, education, shelter and NFIs and WASH activities in Bay, Hiraan, and Middle Shabelle regions. With the funding from the two funds, the implementing partners are also able to bolster critical protection services for women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

On 24 November, Somalia’s Ministry of Health launched a five-day vaccination campaign against measles and polio, targeting 1.7 million under the age of five years. The campaign, which was carried out in Banadir region, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland and South West states, was conducted in partnership with WHO and UNICEF.

According to WHO, the measles virus is spread by respiratory transmission and is highly contagious. Up to 90 per cent of people without immunity who share a house with an infected person will catch it. As of 9 November, 3,616 suspected measles cases have been reported in Somalia in 2019. The country also continues to respond to a vaccine-derived polio outbreak. Three vaccine-derived polio cases have been confirmed in the country in 2019 and 15 children have been paralyzed since the onset of the latest outbreak in 2017.

“One among seven Somali children dies before their fifth birthday and many of these deaths are preventable by use of vaccines,” said WHO Somalia Representative Dr Mamunur Malik. “Although we have made progress over the years to improve routine immunization coverage in the country, there is an urgent need to further scale up the vaccination coverage, especially for measles and polio, by working together with partners, communities and grass-root level organizations. The integrated campaign for measles and polio is expected to improve routine immunization coverage and reach out to those who are missed out during routine immunization programme.”

The campaign targets children in districts with high concentrations of internally displaced persons and nomadic communities. These population groups often have higher mobility, and so are at increased risk for transmission of these diseases.

“Crowded living conditions, malnutrition and limited access to water and sanitation in the IDP settlements and other sites breed disease and put children at grave risk,” said UNICEF Somalia Representative Werner Schultink. “To protect these children, it is critical to reach them with life-saving vaccines.”

The campaign aims to stem the transmission of measles infection and reduce the likelihood of future measles outbreaks in Somalia. Adding polio vaccine to the campaign will also help to bolster protection against polio virus type 1 and 3 among all Somali children. More than 17,000 skilled community vaccinators, frontline health workers and social mobilizers implemented the campaign.

In the first quarter of 2019, cash and voucher assistance (CVA) has been used primarily to target the most vulnerable people from the protracted displacement caseload and in floods and drought-prone regions. In May 2019, CVA has been instrumental in channeling timely assistance to areas of Somaliland and Puntland states that were devastated by cyclone Sagar, which compounded humanitarian needs generated by local disputes in Sool and Sanaag regions.

The use of mobile money within the economy has superseded that of ‘hard’ cash and is the most utilised modality in Somalia. About 36 per cent of Somalia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) flows through mobile money systems, according to the World Bank. Cash assistance reached its peak in August, when 1.6 million people received multi-purpose cash assistance totaling $125 million. Bay, Galgaduud and Mudug regions received most cash assistance due to livestock losses.

Mid-year reporting suggests that the socio-political context isolates and exploits the most vulnerable groups in Somalia, as aid does not systemically reach them during crises. Partners are encouraged to place a greater emphasis on equitable access to all groups described as vulnerable according to protection criteria. The provision of assistance should also be supported by a robust feedback and complaints mechanism to promote a people-centered approach.