World Bank funds program to help Somalis cope with flooding, food insecurity - Dailynewsegypt

The World Bank said it would provide 100 million U.S. dollars in additional financing to help more than 200,000 Somali households benefit from cash transfers to help them cope with flooding and food insecurity.

The World Bank-funded Somalia Shock Responsive Safety Net for Human Capital Project (SNHCP) will provide emergency cash transfers to 215,000 households affected by floods and drought, the lender said in a statement Tuesday evening.

The World Bank said the program would also extend ongoing safety net support to 200,000 poor households with regular nutrition-linked unconditional cash transfers (UCT) for six months and provide UCT to a recertified cohort of 50,000 beneficiaries.

“This additional financing and concurrent restructuring will support the scale-up of support and extension of the regular Baxnaano program, strengthening key building blocks for resilience to future shocks,” said Kristina Svensson, the World Bank country manager for Somalia. 

Baxnaano program also aims at developing a State-led social safety net system to boost human capital and build resilience in Somalia.

The World Bank said the program would further reinforce the linkages between the social protection program, available health and nutrition services, and the labour market.

It will also support the nationwide expansion of data collection for the unified social registry which will form the core of a national adaptive social protection platform.

According to the World Bank, the investments will allow the government to promote human capital development and build essential resilience to future crises.

Ali Nadeem Qureshi, World Bank senior social protection specialist, said the long drought and recent floods have hit Somalia hard. Qureshi stressed that the World Bank is committed to helping the government respond to the immediate needs of the people while strengthening the national adaptive social protection system.

“This strategic initiative reflects our commitment to addressing urgent crisis needs to ensure that the poor and vulnerable households that have suffered compounded impacts of conflict, locust invasion, COVID-19, and recent floods receive critical assistance while creating the foundations for inclusive economic growth,” he added.

According to the World Bank, the project reflects a strategic response to resilience and human capital development, demonstrating the World Bank’s unwavering dedication to contributing to the long-term goal of eliminating extreme poverty in Somalia.

An estimated 8.25 million people — half of the population — in Somalia presently require humanitarian assistance after having been affected mainly by drought and floods, the World Bank said.