Over 250,000 Somali Households to Benefit from Cash Transfers to Cope with Flooding and Food Insecurity
NAIROBI — Over 250,000 Somali households are set to benefit from $100 million in additional financing for the World Bank-funded Somalia Shock Responsive Safety Net for Human Capital Project (SNHCP). The new financing will provide emergency cash transfers to 215,000 households affected by floods and drought. It will also extend ongoing safety net support to 200,000 poor households with regular nutrition-linked unconditional cash transfers (UCT) for six months and provide UCT to a recertified cohort of 50,000 beneficiaries.
“This additional financing and concurrent restructuring will support the scale-up of support and extension of the regular Baxnaano program, strengthening key building blocks for resilience to future shocks,” said Kristina Svensson, World Bank Country Manager for Somalia.
An estimated 8.25 million people (50% of the population) in Somalia presently require humanitarian assistance after having been affected mainly by drought and floods. The protracted drought and flooding have also caused the loss of four million livestock and crop harvests, eroding the primary source of livelihood, income, and nutrition for pastoralist communities.
“The long drought and recent floods have really hit Somalia hard. The World Bank is committed to helping the government to respond to the immediate needs of the people while strengthening the national adaptive social protection system,” reiterated Ali Nadeem Qureshi, World Bank Senior Social Protection Specialist. “This strategic initiative reflects our commitment to addressing urgent crisis needs to ensure that the poor and vulnerable households that have suffered compounded impacts of conflict, locust invasion, COVID-19, and recent floods receive critical assistance while creating the foundations for inclusive economic growth.”
The additional financing builds on the original project’s successes and sustains the momentum while supporting the government’s response to recent floods.
The SNHCP will further reinforce the linkages between the social protection program, available health and nutrition services, and the labor market. It will also support the nationwide expansion of data collection for the Unified Social Registry which will form the core of a national adaptive social protection platform. In addition, the investments will allow the government to promote human capital development and build essential resilience to future crises.
The project reflects a strategic response to resilience and human capital development, demonstrating the Bank’s unwavering dedication to contributing to the long-term goal of eliminating extreme poverty in Somalia, especially in the post-HIPC era.
The $100 million additional financing for the SNHCP is from the International Development Association* (IDA).