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Dry Food Aid for local PWDs from the charity people

2.0 Report Background

2.1 Somalia Humanitarian Needs Overview

Somalia’s prolonged humanitarian crisis is characterized by on-going conflicts, climaterelated shocks, communicable disease outbreaks and weak social protection mechanisms. Since the beginning of 2020, three additional shocks have contributed to a deterioration of humanitarian conditions: Extensive floods, Desert Locust infestations, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These compounding shocks have exacerbated humanitarian needs among a population already living under the strain of widespread poverty and decades of armed conflict and insecurity.

Climate change continues to be a major contributing factor to displacement and food insecurity in Somalia. Increasingly erratic weather patterns and climatic shocks have led to prolonged and severe drought conditions and floods, with devastating humanitarian consequences. Flooding displaced 919,000 people in 2020 and destroyed essential infrastructure, property and 144,000 hectares of agricultural land. In tandem, Somalia also experienced the worst Desert Locust invasion in 25 years; tens of thousands of hectares of cropland and pasture were damaged, with potentially severe consequences for agriculture and pastoral based livelihoods.

Communities living in conflict areas were severely impacted by armed violence. The on-going conflict continues to reduce the resilience of communities, trigger displacement and impede civilians’ access to basic services and humanitarians’ access to those in need. Exclusion and discrimination of socially marginalized groups are contributing to high levels of acute humanitarian need and lack of protection among some of the most vulnerable. Civilians bore the brunt of the conflict through death and