Country stats
- Capital: Mogadishu
- Population: 18.7 million
- People requiring humanitarian aid: 6.9 million
Concern’s response
- Somalia program launched: 1986
- Program areas: Education, Emergency Response, Health & Nutrition, Livelihoods
- Other key focuses: Durable Solutions, Social Protection
Why are we in Somalia?
Somalia has faced a cycle of crisis over the last several decades, fueled by political instability, conflict, hunger, and climate change. Concern has been a frontline responder to these issues for nearly 40 years with both emergency interventions and longer-term projects designed to build the resilience of affected communities.
Nearly 7 million people in Somalia will require humanitarian assistance in 2024
In a country of 18.7 million people, the United Nations estimates that 6.9 million Somalis — over 36% of the population — will require humanitarian assistance in 2024.
While rains reached the Horn of Africa in 2023, ending the worst drought the region (which includes Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya) experienced in over 40 years, Somalia is still recovering from this climate shock. At the end of 2023, it was also faced with some of the worst rains and floods in generations due to El Niño, which caused additional damage and displacement in the final months of the year. This, combined with conflict, insecurity, and other factors, has led to nearly 4 million people internally displaced within Somalia, 80% of whom are women and children, who face additional risks exacerbated by structural inequalities.
Amid additional concerns over access to clean water, sanitation infrastructure, and hygiene necessities, healthcare, and education, hunger remains one of the key areas of focus for the crisis in Somalia. In 2024, the UN estimates that 4.8 million people will require nutrition support, and an additional 4.3 million will require humanitarian assistance in the area of food security and livelihoods. While both of these figures have decreased since the height of the Horn of Africa drought, they still represent the biggest priority for families in need. Approximately 1.5 million children under the age of five are expected to face acute malnutrition in 2024.
Latest achievements
Resilience
Our resilience program in Somalia — encompassing projects related to food security, livelihoods, health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) — reached over 121,000 people in 2023, providing participants with long-term, sustainable solutions to ongoing humanitarian challenges.
Cash transfers
Between January 2022 and March 2024, we distributed nearly $25 million in cash transfers to vulnerable families in Somalia facing the effects of both the Horn of Africa drought and protracted conflict. These payments helped save the lives of over 617,000 people.
Health & nutrition
In 2023, Concern-supported health facilities treated over 400,000 patients. This included nearly 64,000 pregnant and lactating women and children under five who received lifesaving nutrition treatments. We also gave a complete round of immunizations to nearly 13,000 infants in their first year.
Our work in Somalia
We respond to emergencies such as drought, floods and population displacements caused by conflict, climate change and ongoing insecurity, and we build resilience within communities to these shocks.