Sahra Jamac is a mother of four girls and four boys. She lives with her husband in Biyo-Cade – a remote desert settlement in Eyl district, in Somalia’s Nugaal region.
Nearly 1,000 people, or 180 families, reside in Biyo-Cade, the majority of whom are pastoralists who have lost their livestock due to the current drought. However, many people were in need before this drought even started; they were severely impacted by it in 2017 and never fully recovered.
Similar to Sahra and her family, many people in Biyo-Cade have travelled from other places in search of water and food.
Compared to previous droughts we have experienced, she said, this one is devastating and shocking. I have never lost all of my livestock before.
Many pastoral communities in Nugaal no longer have a source of income or access to enough food and water. Local government and humanitarian organisations have taken the lead in addressing the crisis with the limited resources at their disposal.
Life-sustaining projects are being carried out in Biyo-Cade by humanitarian organisations like Himilo Organization for Development (HOD) to lessen the effects of the drought on the local populations. HOD receives funding from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund for its operations (SHF).
Sahra and her family are one of 130 families who were deemed vulnerable and who have received an 80 US dollar cash transfer from HOD for a period of three months.
The cash transfers continue to play a crucial role in reducing vulnerability by providing crisis-affected people with the maximum degree of flexibility, dignity, and efficiency commensurate with their diverse needs. However, according to partners in the region, more needs to be done to prevent the effects of the drought.
“I was struggling to feed my kids, but now that I get a monthly stipend, I can afford to buy food for them and support their education,” Sahra said. Although it is not much, we have access to what we require right now.
In addition to providing the community with cash assistance, HOD has also supported water trucking since February, with each family receiving about 45 litres of water each week. This assistance has been a lifeline for numerous families in the area due to the severe water shortage that exists throughout Somalia, including the Nugaal region.