The Somali Red Crescent Society, in partnership with the IFRC, is present throughout Somaliland and Puntland, helping communities to respond to the growing challenges that vulnerable groups, including nomadic communities, face.
They are leaving home to go further and further away to work so families are being broken up.” Signs of malnutrition Hinda Adan, a nomad and mother of four, visited a Red Crescent mobile health clinic in Lamadhadher village, south of Burao, Somaliland, to have her children screened to determine signs of malnutrition.
But the drought has killed almost all their livestock – only ten goats remain.
“What we are trying to do is cover an entire community with everything so we’ll have a cleaner, safer, healthier community – providing them with food, providing them with water, providing them with shelter,” explained Dorothy.
We are doing the best we can.” Fatima Mohamed Yusuf, a nomad in Togdheer region, is one of the community members who received much-needed health care in a Somali Red Crescent mobile clinic close to her temporary settlement.
The drought came at a devastating cost to her and her family, who lost 270 sheep and goats.
Allah only knows when the rains will come,” said Fatima.
Vital partnerships to tackle drought IFRC is working closely with the Somali Red Crescent and global partners to continue supporting the needs of the most vulnerable people, but the fight to prevent famine is not over.
IFRC will help to ensure Somalia never has to experience famine again.
Thanks to the generous support of the global community through the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, seven million Swiss francs has been donated to the IFRC Emergency Food Crisis Appeal in Somalia, which will help to bring life-saving support to 353,000 people in some of the most isolated, vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities.

After the Christmas holiday downpours and a drizzly old January it may come as a surprise to learn that the south east of England faces a drought this summer.
Yet the Environment Agency is warning that parts of London and the south east will be hit by water shortages later this year unless it rains significantly more than usual over the next two to three months.
And it has left stocks in many of the reservoirs that supply households well below where they should be.
“Water companies will be advising their customers to use water wisely and considering action to preserve and enhance water supplies,” Stuart Sampson The Environment Agency has warned that unless rainfall levels pick up considerably, parts of the south east face a drought this summer – the first in Britain for six years.
“Groundwater and some reservoirs are below normal levels and above-average rainfall is now needed in parts of the region over the winter months to replenish groundwater supplies for 2018,” said Environment Agency water manager Stuart Sampson.
Long-term stock depletion Normally excess winter rainfall is stored in reservoirs and as groundwater that people use in the summer and which gets replenished the following winter.
This came after a prolonged period of low rainfall between October 2016 and February 2017, when precipiation fell to 78 per cent of its long term average.
“We depend on winter rainfall for the water we supply to our customers and the rain from a few wet days is not enough to seep down into the acquifiers,” SES spokesman SES Water, which supplies nearly 300,000 households in East Surrey, West Sussex, Kent and south London, is calling on customers to “use water wisely”.
“We depend on winter rainfall for the water we supply to our customers and the rain from a few wet days is not enough to seep down into the acquifiers,” a spokesman said.
The Bewl reservoir The Bewl reservoir is only 44 per cent full at the moment, which is better than the 33 per cent level it dipped to in December, but far behind the 75 per cent it should be at at this time of the year.

Cool heads and steady leadership are needed to mobile and support farmers and residents as southwestern parts of South Africa grapple with a drought-related water crisis, farm group Agri SA said on Friday.
“As the threat of our water sources running dry begins to materialise, panic is beginning to set in.
Cool heads and steady leadership are needed in times such as these,” Agri SA said in a statement .
It warned that the agricultural sector was an obvious and easy target for blame as the largest user of water, but pointed out that the Western Cape region was a key exporter of produce and that food-processing accounted for 25 percent of South Africa’s manufacturing output.
The group said Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane had acknowledged after a recent meeting that Agri SA and government were allies in dealing with the prevailing drought crisis in Western Cape.
“Certain hard realities had to be addressed, including the need for improved water use management,” it said.
In certain identified areas, farmers were “undeniably known to be abstracting and using water unlawfully and to the detriment of their neighbours and the province as a whole”.
“Agri SA will not defend the indefensible and strongly condemns the unlawful abstraction, storage and use of water by all persons,” the group said.
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In a behind-closed-doors meeting‚ the council has to decide whether to suspend its transport commissioner‚ Melissa Whitehead‚ pending a disciplinary hearing.
Whitehead is at the centre a number of allegations that have already seen long-time municipal manager Achmat Ebrahim quit his post and De Lille facing a DA disciplinary hearing.
De Lille is under investigation by both her party and the city council for allegedly covering up claims about Whitehead’s alleged wrongdoing.
Ebrahim quit last Friday‚ the day he was scheduled to give the council his own reasons why he‚ too‚ should not be suspended pending disciplinary action.
After the closed meeting‚ the city will consider its proposed drought levy‚ which has been rejected by Capetonians.
De Lille said from February 1 the city was introducing new water restrictions‚ level 6b‚ which will limit residents to 50 litres a day — down from 87 litres which most Capetonians have failed to achieve.
Her announcement followed a directive by the DA federal executive that the Cape Town caucus must propose and pass a motion barring De Lille from being involved in the city’s drought response.
Party leader mmusi Maimane said on Sunday that the motion would propose deputy mayor and Ian Nielson and mayoral committee member Xanthea Limberg should take over.
But De Lille is fighting the matter.
At Thursday’s press conference‚ De Lille admitted: “Day Zero is now likely.” Level-six water restrictions came into effect on January 1 2018.

17 January 2018 – While Somalia, with the international community’s help, averted famine last year, long-term solutions for drought, conflict and displacement must still be found, the United Nations office in the country said Wednesday, launching the 2018 humanitarian response plan, which calls for $1.6 billion to protect the lives of 5.4 million people.
“I am proud that we averted a possible famine last year.
Lasting solutions […], however, out of our reach, and much more must be done to eliminate the looming threat of famine in this country,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Peter de Clercq, in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
“If we do not continue to save lives and in parallel build resilience, then we have only delayed a famine, not prevented one,” warned Mr. de Clercq.
In 2017, displacement reached unprecedented levels, with food security needs nearly doubling the five-year average.
An estimated 1.2 million children are projected to be malnourished in 2018, 232,000 of whom will face life-threatening severe acute malnutrition.
To mitigate future crises, humanitarians are working with development partners and Somali authorities to address the underlying causes of recurring crises, including food insecurity and mass displacement.
“With important progress made on the political and governance fronts, Somalia is on a positive trajectory, despite ongoing crises.
However, he noted that these gains are reversible and must be protected.
“With continued international support, we can break the cycle of recurrent crises that undermine the peacebuilding and State-building process in Somalia,” he concluded.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) – The South African city of Cape Town announced new water restrictions Thursday to combat drought, saying it was looking more likely that it will have to turn off most taps on "Day Zero," or April 21.
Mayor Patricia de Lille said 60 percent of residents are "callously" using more than the current limit and that the city will fine households that use too much water.
"We have reached a point of no return," she said.
Residents must use no more than 50 liters of water daily beginning Feb. 1, down from 87 liters currently.
Cape Town, a major tourist destination and a city of 3.7 million people, has assessed 200 water collection points for residents as it prepares for the possible April 21 cutoff.
Experts link the city’s water shortages to factors including climate change and high population growth.
We must force them," de Lille said.
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Farmers can see drought relief coming as most flush green again after months without meaningful rain, and additional government drought relief measures are announced.
Minister of Revenue Stuart Nash announced on Thursday that Manawatū farmers were included in a tax relief package for drought-affected areas reaching from New Plymouth to the Grey and Buller districts.
"We know the rural community is having a tough time.
However, it would be a hard slog to recover the lost ground, she said.
Many dairy farmers had already dipped into dry feed meant for finishing cows and lambs in winter, and would have to buy in more, she said.
"We don’t normally get dry feed in for beef and sheep, but I was feeding breeding cows with hay around Christmas.
You’ve got to roll with the seasons to be productive and change things as and when you need it.
"The season’s production is still going to be quite seriously affected.
Some feed crops had been grown locally for later in the year, but not enough, he said.
The ones that have been very patient, and waited for the soils to dry out have actually got really good crops, but they’ve needed to use them earlier before they were ready, so they have less."

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – About 6.2 million people in Somalia – half the population – need emergency aid, such as food, water and shelter, due to unprecedented drought and ongoing conflict, the United Nations said on Wednesday, appealing for $1.6 billion.
The drought – spanning four consecutive poor rainy seasons – has forced millions from their homes and left hundreds of thousands of children malnourished.
One in four people in the Horn of Africa nation faces the risk of hunger.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said donors raised enough funds in 2017 to avert famine and stave off an outbreak of cholera, but the situation was set to worsen this year without sufficient aid.
Somalia’s 2011 famine killed 260,000 people, half of whom died before the official declaration of famine, caused by drought, war and lack of access for humanitarian aid.
Its weak, Western-backed government is struggling to assert control over poor, rural areas under the Islamist militant group al Shabaab – challenging the delivery of aid to the most needy.
Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre thanked the international community for the $1.3 billion raised last year, but warned there was no room for complacency.
“We face similar challenges and risks this year and the years to follow,” said Hassan.
“Drought and conflict will continue to affect the lives of millions of Somalis.
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The South African city of Cape Town will slash residents’ water allowance to 50 litres a day from next month amid fears that it could become the world’s first major city to run out of water.
Cape Town, a popular tourist destination, has been hit by its worst drought in a century.
Ms De Lille warned that the city risked reaching "Day Zero" on 21 April, when taps in homes could run dry.
"We can no longer ask people to stop wasting water.
We must force them," she said at a press conference.
Africa Live: More updates What is behind Cape Town’s water crisis?
Drought hits Cape Town’s economy A person uses about 15 litres per minute for a typical shower and the same amount when flushing a standard toilet, according to WaterWise, a South African water usage awareness campaign.
Cape Town had earlier banned car washing and filling up swimming pools as part of efforts to conserve water.
The Indian cricket team was also urged to take showers of no more than two minutes during its tour of the city earlier this month.
Much of southern Africa has been recovering from a drought caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, following heavy summer rains.

Northeast Temperatures were normal to above normal in New England with widespread precipitation over most of the region except for central Pennsylvania and western New York.
Some improvements were made to abnormally dry conditions in response to the greatest precipitation.
Moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions were also expanded in the central and northern portions of Alabama.In areas of southwestern Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, severe drought was expanded, and moderate drought was expanded in southeastern Georgia.
Extreme drought conditions were also pushed more to the west in southern Kansas.
Heavy rains impacted the region from southern Arkansas into western Tennessee.
Southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana had some improvement to the severe drought while moderate drought was improved over portions of eastern Texas.
Extreme drought was also expanded over northern Texas while moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions were expanded over most of the central portions of Texas.
Even with the precipitation in Oregon, the water year continues to be well below normal for precipitation, which allowed for the expansion of abnormally dry conditions in Oregon, western Idaho, and southern Washington.
Precipitation from the central Rocky Mountains will pass through the central Plains and into the upper Midwest and Great Lakes.
This should help bring the snow levels down over the western United States, allowing for snow accumulation to take place.The 6-10 day outlooks show that temperatures are anticipated to remain cooler than normal over the western and north central United States, with the greatest probability of below-normal temperatures over Montana and Wyoming.