Somali Disaster Agency, Plan International meet as drought crisis deepens

Sunday November 30, 2025

Mogadishu (HOL) - The Commissioner of the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA), Mohamud Moalim Abdulle, on Saturday met with a high-level delegation from Plan International led by the Regional Director for the Middle East, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa, Angela Muriithi.

The meeting, held at SoDMA headquarters in Mogadishu, focused on the looming drought, strengthening cooperation between the two institutions, and enhancing early warning systems and community-level rapid response mechanisms.

Both sides agreed to accelerate preparedness measures, improve information-sharing and the dissemination of early warnings, and develop proposals to expand their partnership in alignment with national disaster management priorities.

They also emphasized the importance of reinforcing their strategic relationship to respond effectively to emergencies and create opportunities for joint action.

Somalia is currently facing a rapidly worsening drought, with large parts of the country parched after four failed rainy seasons, leaving millions at risk of hunger and displacement, according to UN agencies. On 10 November, the Federal Government of Somalia formally declared a drought emergency and appealed for urgent international assistance as conditions continued to deteriorate across northern, central, and southern regions, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Puntland is among the hardest-hit areas, where authorities estimate that nearly one million people require support, including 130,000 facing life-threatening conditions.