According to a report by the UNOCHA, 3 million livestock in Somalia have already died due to hunger and dehydration. Families are taking desperate measures to survive, leaving their homes in search of food, pasture, water and alternative livelihoods, increasing the risk of inter-communal conflict, as well as heightening pressure on already limited natural resources.
Ismail Sheikh Abdirahman Story
Owning livestock for Ismail Sheikh Abdirahman, a father of five, who lives in Elbanda Village, Elwak District, Somalia signifies economic freedom. Having healthy livestock means that he can provide for his family efficiently. Possessing large herds of livestock is a symbol of prosperity and prestige among many pastoral communities. His village was home to hundreds of agro-pastoral families who largely depended on livestock and agriculture for their livelihoods. But due to the cyclic climatic shocks of droughts and floods affecting Somalia, their livelihoods have been severely impacted. The availability of adequate pasture and water is crucial in maintaining good health and improving the milk production of their livestock. However, the current protracted drought has hampered pasture productivity leaving livestock with no grazing pastures, their deterioration and consequently the death of many livestock.
In the last four months, the father of five has lost 150 of his livestock. The remaining 100 were too weak and he feared many of them would succumb to the drought too. Ismail reported that he would sometimes try and buy maize seeds and feed them to his livestock to try and sustain them. The diverse effects of the drought have taken a heavy toll on him since he is constantly strained in the effort to provide food for his family and his treasured livestock.
“I sometimes fed the livestock the boiled maize that my family also ate.” He said, “It was very difficult to feed the family and the livestock, a 50kg bag of maize retailed at $18, I could no longer afford to pay that much.” he added.
Ismail’s shoats feeding on maize seeds
Nomadic Assistance for Peace and Development (NAPAD) has partnered with the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) in a project to support the protection of the remaining livestock assets. 200 drought-affected households residing in Oktober, Medina and Elbanda villages, Elwak district have received lifesaving fodder for their remaining livestock. Approximately 1000 emaciated shoats have benefited from this intervention that also supplements the little pasture available for them.
Ismail could not hide his joy after receiving the fodder. For him, this not only means that his shoats now have feeds but also that he has more time to look for alternative ways to provide for his family. His shoats will also produce more milk which will be nutritious for his young children. It also means that his main source of livelihood is slowly being restored. According to the first circle post distribution monitoring, he said that his emaciated shoats had regained weight and energy and that those that were too weak now can stand.
“We appreciate NAPAD’s support and we appeal to them to scale up their support so that we can save more of our emaciated livestock,” Ismail reports.
NAPAD’s Humanitarian Appeal
As the ravaging drought continues to impact millions of families in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, much financial support is needed to support the most vulnerable families and save their livelihoods. NAPAD is supporting families like that of Ismail during this protracted drought by,
- Providing food aid to the most vulnerable households.
- Providing life-saving water for domestic and livestock use by establishing hybrid solar-powered water supply networks to rural villages and IDP camps.
- Providing Education in Emergency for displaced children.
- Supporting agro-pastoral farmers on knowledge transfer on climate-smart agriculture and developing solarized irrigation farms that increase farm yields.
- Supporting livelihood diversification of especially IDP households to increase household income.
- Supporting community-led peacebuilding and reconciliation, particularly in resource conflict-prone areas.
Support our humanitarian response and recovery work in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.