Emergency food security and livelihoods responses to drought affected agro-pastoral communities in Baidoa, Bay region, South Somalia. The project titled, “Emergency food security and livelihoods responses to drought affected agro-pastoral communities in Baidoa, Bay region, South Somalia” aims to save and protect livelihood assets of 700 vulnerable drought affected agro-pastoralists HHs including women, boys, girls, and female headed households.

The project targets most vulnerable women, men, boys and girls who are affected by the prevailing drought in the region as a result of three consecutive rainy season failures and has specific focus on the most vulnerable populations. The prevailing drought has severely and directly affected agro-pastoral communities whose sources of food, income and water are diminishing and increasingly at risk. This has led to household food insecurity, sharp increase in debt levels among poor households and a severe reduction in access to safe water for both domestic and animal use. Additionally, the drought affected households rely on food purchase from local markets, have weak purchasing power due to limited income and lack access to credit services due to cumulative debt and therefore not able to purchase veterinary drugs and water, which is essential at this period when livestock body condition is so poor thus susceptible to opportunistic diseases.

In order to improve household immediate access to food, unconditional cash transfer will be provided to 700 agro-pastoral HHs including girls, pregnant and lactating women, boys and men to enable them immediately access food, water, healthcare, and other basic services. 

To protect key livelihoods assets of agro-pastoralists, livestock belonging to 500 vulnerable agro-pastoralists HHs (including female headed) currently affected by drought and who cannot afford costs for livestock drugs and treatment services will be provided with treatment. The 500 beneficiaries will be selected from the 700 HHs already targeted for UCT. This activity will prevent deaths and reduction in production through treatment of livestock against bacterial infections, trypanosomosis, helminthosis, tick infestation, mange, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis. Additionally, 500 vulnerable agro-pastoralists households (selected from the 700 UCT beneficiaries) will be provided with water for livestock use in response to immediate water needs. The activity is aimed at protecting livestock assets of the drought affected agro-pastoral communities from dehydration, opportunistic infections and death. This activity is envisaged to reduce workload and stress on women and girls who are responsible for watering of livestock. In addition, GBV associated with fetching and transporting water for long distances will be mitigated through the proposed water trucking

In summary the following activities will be carried out:
1. Provide unconditional cash to 700  drought affected  agro-pastoral HHs.
2. Provide livestock treatment support for 500 drought affected agro-pastoral HHs (subset of activity 1 beneficiaries).
3. Provide water for livestock use to 500 drought affected agro-pastoral HHs (subset of activity 1 beneficiaries).