Supporting early warning in Ethiopia’s Somali region

Ethiopia | 2024 | CERF

Ethiopia, Somali region. Ade Muktar walks through Ayun village with a megaphone in hand, calling his neighbours to a community meeting. Ayun is a small town in Ethiopia’s Somali region, still recovering from the 2020–2022 drought—one of the most severe in the Horn of Africa's recent history.

Ade’s role is critical—disseminating early warning messages to local communities, using megaphones to ensure the information reaches as many people as possible. The message is clear: forecasts predict below-normal rains—protect your livestock and livelihoods, stock up on food and fodder, and prepare for what is to come.

Ruqiya Yusuf joins her neighbours to listen to the early warning messages. Life in Ayun is difficult for Ruqiya, who shares: “How I survive in this town is a miracle. My husband died, leaving me with seven children. I have only one goat left from my livestock. Last year, after the drought, we had a good season—there were pastures and grass all over the land. Now, I worry that we will have nothing left.”

The community early warning meetings are part of WFP’s support, enabled by CERF funding, to help communities prepare for the drought predicted to hit the Somali and Oromia regions in the last quarter of 2024.

For Ruqiya, the messages were eye-opening. “We accepted all they told us. They advised us to save floodwater, cultivate crops, and store the harvest to ensure food for ourselves and our children.”

Beyond early warning messages and advisories, WFP’s support also included multi-purpose cash transfers and the provision of feed vouchers for animals, along with support on rangeland management and fodder production practices.

“The cash we received will go a long way,” says Ruqiya. “I can buy the necessities we need, pay back some debt, and make sure I have food for myself and my children to carry us through the drought.”

Through a $10 million CERF allocation, WFP and other UN agencies (FAO, IOM, UNICEF and WHO) assisted thousands of vulnerable people ahead of peak drought—enabling communities to take precautionary measures to safeguard their lives and livelihoods.

Posted May 2025.
More information on the CERF's work in 2024
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