Six months after emerging from a historic drought that nearly led to a widespread famine, Somalia faced another climate-related crisis. Heavy rains induced by El Niño climate phenomenon hit various regions, impacting over 2.5 million people since the onset of the Deyr rains in October 2023. These recurrent climate shocks, coupled with conflict and insecurity, led to the displacement of millions people, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation.
In Northern Kismayo, the insecurity combined with deteriorated living conditions due to the drought pushed the communities to leave their houses and triggered major displacements.
With the support from European Commission Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection (ECHO), Acted, through the Somali Cash Consortium (SCC), has been providing Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) to support the famine prevention response and crisis-affected communities in Somalia, from April 2023 to March 2024. This project delivered life-saving support and improved the ability of the most vulnerable households to meet their basic needs and increase access to basic services and strengthen their resilience.
Transforming IDP lives through multipurpose cash assistance
Through the provision of multipurpose cash assistance, Acted has taken significant steps to alleviate the immediate hardships faced by those affected. Specifically, in North Kismayo Acted supported 1000 households with three cycles of cash transfers to respond to their urgent needs.
This intervention reached the most vulnerable populations residing in Istanbul and El Jale IDP sites, in North Kismayo. By empowering these families with cash transfers, Acted provided them with the means to address their immediate needs, including access to clean water and essential food items. Cash assistance is often the preferred modality for beneficiaries, as it allows them to choose their expenditures and preserves their dignity by letting them make their own choices.
Nuura Jama* is a mother of 14 children. 6 years ago, Nuura and her family fled from a rural village in Jilib district because of the prolonged droughts. After settling in Istanbul IDP site, in North Kismayo district, she found herself grappling with the challenges of providing food and essential items for her family, having lost all means of livelihood because of the drought. In the IDP camp, Nuura and her family used to borrow money from the near shops to pay some of their daily expenses, and she sometimes had no meals for her and her family.
To support the crises affected communities, Acted, as part of the SCC, provided multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) as part of life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable population in Istanbul and El Jale IDP camps. Nuura, as a resident of Istanbul IDP camps, was registered and received three cycles of cash transfers (90USD) from July to September 2023.
Following the three cash transfers, Nuura was able to cover her family immediate needs, including buying foods and clean water. She was also able to pay the school learning materials and fees for her children. In addition, she also managed to purchase some building materials to improve her shelter to prevent the projected floods during the Deyr rains in October 2023.
70% of the beneficiaries assisted estimated that the amount of the cash assistance received was appropriate to help them meet their monthly needs**.
The assistance we received has been a lifeline for my family. With the cash transfers, I could finally provide enough food and education for my children, easing some of the burdens we faced.
While we've made strides in improving our situation, the threat of floods still looms large. I hope for continued support, whether in the form of cash or productive assets, to help us build resilience against future shocks.
Nuura’s story showcases the positive impact of cash assistance, provided by Acted and the SCC to crises affected internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. However, despite these improvements, Nuura stressed the importance of cash assistance in a displacement context, particularly considering the foreseen El Niño induced floods in November 2023.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
**Based on the post-distribution monitoring (PDM) assessment conducted after the distribution to measure the effectiveness of assistance provided.
