Supporting families through unconditional cash for emergency relief

ACTED, through the Somali Cash Consortium led by Concern Worldwide and funded by the European Union, was able to support the most vulnerable households through unconditional cash transfers, enabling families to access basic needs through increased purchasing power.

Due to recent harsh environmental conditions and drought affecting the livelihoods of vulnerable households in Sool and Sanaag regions, many families faced widespread food consumption gaps. This raised concerns that many communities, already experiencing crisis and/or emergency needs would face continued drought conditions and water scarcity, further exacerbating the dire need of humanitarian aids on the ground.

ACTED’s response, funded by the European Union, aimed to mitigate the impact of drought in the targeted locations by providing six cycles of cash transfers. This prevented the worsening of situations for vulnerable families living in Las Anod, Sool Region, and Erigavo, Sanaag Region.

Samsam lives in Carmale village, Erigavo District, Sanaag Region. Her family’s situation is very precarious; her husband used to engage in casual labour in their village to earn some income to meet their family needs. Due to the deteriorating situation and the worsening drought conditions, most of the villagers including Samsam’s family were displaced to other towns to look for a better life. Samsam’s family is one of the many selected to participate in ACTED’s unconditional cash transfer project. The cash assistance not only improved their livelihoods but Samsam’s children were also able to re-attend school.

To meet urgent basic needs while also paving the way for recovery and resilience building, the consortium has already provided five cycles of unconditional cash transfers to 837 households in Las Anod and 689 households in Erigavo districts, Somaliland. In doing so, beneficiaries have increased access to basic food and non-food commodities while some families were even able to save to start small business.