Somalia Monthly Humanitarian Update, December 2024

Attachments

This report is produced by OCHA Somalia in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It provides information on the humanitarian situation across Somalia in December 2024.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The 2025 Somalia Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan will be launched in January. The plan estimates that 5.98 million people will need assistance in 2025. It will require US$1.4 billion, a 10 per cent reduction from 2024.

  • From October to, December partners, reported 62 access incidents, reflecting a slight increase compared to the third quarter of 2024. There was an increase in the types of reported access constraints, particularly military operations and ongoing hostilities.

  • South West State parliament has approved a bill which ensures that humanitarian assistance is directed to intended beneficiaries, enhancing transparency and accountability while combating diversion and corruption.

  • Story: A mobile clinic, supported by UNFPA, is enhancing maternal health services for pregnant women and new mothers in Qansaxley IDP settlement.

KEY FIGURES

6.9M People who needed humanitarian assistance in 2024.

5.98M People who will need humanitarian assistance in 2025.

US$1.6BN Funding required for the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HNRP).

US$1.4BN Funding that will be required for 2025 HNRP.

1.83M Number of people reached with multiple assistance since January 2024

2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan to be launched in January

The 2025 Somalia Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) is being finalized and will be launched in January. The plan estimates that 5.98 million people in Somalia will need humanitarian and protection assistance. This represents a 13 per cent reduction from 2024 when 6.9 million people were deemed to need assistance. Of these, 4.6 million people will be targeted for assistance, which is an 11 per cent reduction from the 2024 target of 5.2 million people. The financial requirement will be US$1.4 billion, a 10 per cent reduction from 2024.

The HNRP focuses on lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance for people with the most severe levels of needs and incorporates humanitarian response gaps analysis into the inter-cluster prioritization methodology, reinforcing commitments to leave no one behind. A summary published on 15 December shows that while the humanitarian situation in Somalia saw slight improvements as compared to previous years, conflict-generated insecurity has become the leading cause for internal displacement, as inter-clan fighting escalated in Mudug, Gedo and other locations in Somalia. The increased frequency of cyclical drought and floods strains coping capacities and resilience of millions of Somalis as a result the country continues to face multiple crises including climate shocks, protracted conflicts, displacements, rampant disease outbreaks and widespread poverty An estimated 3.5 million people remain displaced from their homes.

In 2024, humanitarians requested US$1.6 billion to meet the needs of 5.2 million most vulnerable Somalis and received 47.2 per cent. 281 humanitarian agencies reached at least 3.5 million people with at least one type of assistance and 1.83 million people with multiple types of assistance since January 2024. The support from donors is appreciated, but more funding will be needed in 2025, including funding for the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, which is one of the main sources of funding for national non-governmental organizations. Low funding prompts humanitarian partners to scale down their responses and to prioritize the most vulnerable people in areas with the greatest severity of needs. Ultimately, sustained humanitarian assistance is essential to saving lives in Somalia, but it must be accompanied by investments in long-term solutions to break the cycle of vulnerability.