On the edge of disaster: Somalis forced to flee drought and near famine conditions

This report documents the humanitarian challenges encountered by internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia, in the context of drought and ongoing conflict in the country. It outlines problems such as food insecurity and undernutrition, the lack of sanitation and gender-based violence and makes recommendations on the scaling-up and improved coordination of humanitarian response.

Particularly, this report highlights the need for a comprehensive strategy to address drought displacement over the longer term through planning prospects for either the return or local integration in host communities of displaced persons. These plans should aim to mitigate the risk of creating a large, new protracted caseload of IDPs in Somalia. The report also makes the case for humanitarian organisations to support resilience-based drought coping mechanisms and strategies, especially as climate change is expected to contribute to recurring disaster events and changing temperature and rainfall patterns in the region.