©FAO

The future can look very different for drought-affected communities if they can be reached with the proper support.

Fatuma Sha'aban lives with her family in Hoodey village, Luuq district. Like most people in her community, she relies on livestock as her primary source of livelihood. As consecutive poor rainy seasons stacked up and water became scarce, Fatuma was forced to look elsewhere to provide for her family. "With our animals dying and growing weak, the circumstances forced us to harvest firewood, burn charcoal, and cut down trees. We did whatever we could to provide for ourselves," said Fatuma.  

Many rural villages like Hoodey in Somalia still face food security challenges due to historic droughts and high global food prices. A combination of skyrocketing global food prices, low local food production, and insecurity have wreaked havoc on the most vulnerable in Somalia, where many areas are deemed 'inaccessible' due to persistent insecurity. 

Through the USAID-funded project, 'Providing Emergency Life-saving Food and Livelihood Support to Drought-Affected Communities in Somalia', FAO provided unconditional cash transfers to enable Fatuma and other rural families in Hoodey to meet their most critical needs, such as food, water, and medicine. Support like this meant that Fatuma no longer had to sell productive family farming equipment or cut down trees for firewood to survive, a short-term survival mechanism that posed risks to her and degraded the environment she and her livestock depended on. 

With support from USAID, FAO, and its local partners have reached 777 132 people, corresponding to 129 522 families, with emergency cash support across the country, reducing the risk of displacement and hastening recovery for when conditions improve. "We were on the verge of displacement before FAO supported us with a monthly payment of USD 70 for three months," said Fatuma.  

"Through the cash transfers, we're able to reach them quickly and before their livelihoods are sold or diminished, in a dignified and transparent matter, while helping keep families and communities together," said Lenin Gradiz, FAO Somalia Emergency Coordinator." The assistance provided also helps prevent the worsening of food security situation and malnutrition in rural children", he said.  

For families like Fatuma's, cash transfers helped them rise above some of their challenges and provided more options to look after their families in the middle of a climate disaster. "Many people moved and sought better living conditions. Some crossed to Ethiopia, and others to Kenya. I was lucky this support from FAO came and it stopped us from having to move," said Fatuma.