Excellencies, Members, Partners and Colleagues,

Greetings from ReDSS Somalia Country Unit! 

There have been a lot of developments that have happened in Somalia, and ReDSS Somalia wishes to share them with you. In this update, you will find information on displacement figures between January and April, including displacement drivers, interesting studies that ReDSS and ReDSS partners are working on, and key events in the next two months.

628,776 people were displaced in Somalia between January and April 2022, according to the Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) eviction dashboard. This figure presents a 35% increase in displacement recorded compared to a similar period in 2021. The most significant displacement driver thus far in 2022 is drought accounting for 84% of displacement figures, while conflict and evictions contributed to 9% and 8%, respectively. This is also a shift from the first quarter of 2021, where conflict was the most significant displacement driver accounting for 85% of all displacement recorded. The top five regions of origin in 2022 include Bay, Galgaduud, Mudug, Lower Shabelle, and Togdheer, while Banadir, Galgaduud Mudug, Gedo and Togdheer were the top five hosting regions. Priority needs on arrival include food, livelihood support, shelter and water. The displacement situation underscores the need to think about early solutions (see more under ReDSS updates).

Cost of solutions study

ReDSS, working with Danwadaag Consortium, Monitoring and Evaluation for Somalia Humanitarian, Health and Resilience (MESH) and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), completed a joint review of the initial findings of the cost of solutions study. These findings indicate that Danwadaag solutions interventions were between 36% and 44% more cost-effective than traditional humanitarian solutions. The final report will be published in June and disseminated shortly thereafter.

Early solutions thinking

Cyclic drought in the Horn of Africa region is not a new phenomenon, and neither is the displacement that occurs as a consequence. This requires all actors to employ an early solutions lens from the onset of displacement to prevent protracted displacement where displaced populations do not have the capacity or opportunities to rebuild their lives post displacement. ReDSS reframed its early solutions paper into eight critical success factors that actors apply in their response to address displacements due to the current drought situation. These critical success factors are people centered, which means meaningfully engaging affected communities on their local solutions and promoting them to build self-reliance and resilience. ReDSS is currently working to collect and collate case studies of early solutions to collective learning. Click here if you would like to learn more.

New partnership with Somali Public Agenda

ReDSS is finalizing a formal partnership with Somalia Public Agenda (SPA), a Mogadishu-based think-tank institution. The partnership is aimed at supporting the translation of evidence and knowledge to better aid responses that promote durable solutions for displacement-affected communities. Through its people-centred approach, ReDSS will jointly work with SPA to explore new ways of working with displacement-affected communities that give them more voice to shape the policies and programmes that aim to support them. Joint work will include new assessment tools that better understand the role of social capital in shaping vulnerability and provide a more nuanced understanding of the aspiration and intentions of the DACs.

ReDSS Somalia quarterly meeting

ReDSS Somalia Unit (RSU) convened the ReDSS Core Group quarterly meeting for members and partners on the 28^th April 2022. Twenty one (21) participants joined the meeting representing 8 ReDSS core group members and partner organizations including ACTED, Concern Worldwide, World Vision International, Lutheran World Federation, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council, Mercy Corps, OXFAM, RYEH, Juba Foundation, IFOH-C, Danwadaag CMU, Rising Nomads, TASCO and the ReDSS secretariat. Please see the outcome here  

People centered approach to durable solutions learning events in June

ReDSS plans to conduct two half-day hybrid events in Mogadishu on the 20^th and 23^rd of June, 2022. The objective of the learning event is to increase awareness of ways of promoting the voice of displacement-affected communities in addressing their own displacement and achieving self-reliance. An anticipated outcome of this learning event is increased awareness of ways of promoting the voice of affected communities in addressing their displacement among practitioners, policymakers and researchers. Please find more details on the event here and a concept note here. If you would like to participate, kindly register here by 10^th June 2022. 

Durable Solutions Working Group (DSWG) bi-monthly meeting in June

ReDSS in conjunction with the Integrated Office of the DSRSG/RC/HC will conduct teh bi-monthly Durable Solutions Working Group in June 2022. This will be held virtually. If you would like to be included in this mailing list or would like more information, please contact Abdullahi Hassan: a.hassan@regionaldss.org  and Tendai Matemadombo matemado@unhcr.org

Measuring (re)integration - New LORA report out! 

Danwadaag Consortium | LORA Endline report | May 2022: this report is the third in a series of longitudinal studies that measured inequalities between the host community and IDPs to understand displacement related vulnerabilities. It also measured perceptions of integration among displaced communities by asking what they needed to feel more integrated. The endline report records a significant decrease in displacement vulnerabilities relative to the baseline and provides proof that these change over time, and thus programmes must be adaptive to account for them. After three and half years of work by the Danwadaag programme, IDPs in the selected areas perceive that trust in institutions, safe food access and school attendance would make them feel more integrated into the areas they are hosted. There are also significant inequalities with regard to education levels and social cohesion, specifically children and youth playing across different displacement groups and invitations to social events across other displacement groups.