United Kingdom has committed £5 million in new humanitarian funding to help vulnerable communities in Somalia prepare for potentially severe flooding during the October to December rainy season, as climate shocks, conflict and displacement continue to place pressure on the country’s fragile humanitarian system.
The funding is designed to support early action before flooding cuts off communities, damages livelihoods and disrupts access to essential services. Up to 600,000 people are expected to benefit from health, nutrition, water, sanitation and protection assistance, with particular attention to communities living in flood-prone areas and people already displaced by conflict, drought and other crises.
The intervention will also support almost 100 internally displaced person (IDP) camps, where families face heightened exposure to flooding and disruptions to basic services. Mobile health services will be expanded to reach communities that become difficult to access during the rainy season, while measures will also be introduced to help protect livelihoods in vulnerable locations.
Jowhar and Beletweyne are among the areas expected to receive support as authorities and humanitarian organisations prepare for the potential effects of El Niño-related rainfall.
According to report, between 2.5 million and 3.5 million people could be affected by flooding across Somalia, raising concerns over access to food, clean water, healthcare and shelter if heavy rains overwhelm communities and infrastructure.
The British funding seeks to reduce those risks through measures that can be implemented before the worst effects of flooding emerge.
Chris Pycroft, Development Director at the British Embassy Mogadishu noted that, “Floods don’t have to become humanitarian disasters. Acting early means families can move to safety, essential services can remain available and livelihoods can be protected.”
He added, “by investing now, we can save lives and help Somali communities withstand future climate shocks.”
Somalia’s vulnerability is intensified by the intersection between climate shocks and other long-running crises. Recurring droughts have weakened household resilience, while conflict and displacement have pushed large numbers of people into areas where access to shelter, healthcare, water and sanitation remains limited.
Early Action Targets Health Services and Vulnerable Communities
The £5 million allocation will be channelled through two existing UK-supported programmes: Caafimaad Plus and RESTORE, with £2.5 million assigned to each initiative.
Caafimaad Plus, led by Action Against Hunger, will focus on essential health, nutrition, water, sanitation and protection services for communities at risk from flooding.
The programme is expected to help maintain the operations of up to 71 supported health facilities while expanding mobile health services for communities that may become displaced or cut off as floodwaters rise.
Maintaining healthcare access is particularly important during humanitarian emergencies because flooding can simultaneously increase health risks and make medical facilities harder to reach.
The programme will also support services in communities where displacement has already placed pressure on local resources and humanitarian infrastructure.
RESTORE, meanwhile, will concentrate on preparedness and resilience measures designed to help communities respond before and during flooding.
The programme is being delivered through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and World Vision.
Its activities will include strengthening early warning systems, supporting temporary relocation, implementing flood protection measures and providing cash assistance to vulnerable households.
Early warning systems are central to the strategy because advance information can give families and humanitarian organisations more time to respond before flooding becomes life-threatening.
Temporary relocation can also reduce exposure to floodwaters, particularly in settlements situated near rivers or in other areas vulnerable to seasonal flooding.
Cash assistance provides another layer of protection by giving affected households resources to secure essential supplies and respond to immediate needs without waiting for large-scale emergency operations to begin.
Meanwhile, Somalia has already experienced the consequences of El Niño-related flooding on a large scale.
In 2023, flooding linked to the climate phenomenon affected approximately 2.48 million people and displaced about 1.2 million across the country.
The experience demonstrated how quickly heavy rainfall can transform an already difficult humanitarian environment into a major displacement and public-service crisis. UK’s new funding forms part of a wider £15 million commitment announced to support countries considered most vulnerable to the effects of El Niño.
Within Somalia, the intervention builds on UK’s broader humanitarian and development partnership, combining immediate assistance with longer-term efforts to strengthen communities’ ability to withstand future climate shocks.
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