SOM_Somalia, Somaliland, and Puntland Joint Response 2 (SSP JR2) The humanitarian situation in Somalia is extremely alarming, with 6.2M people in need of humanitarian support (FEWSNET, Feb 2017). A key programmatic focus of the HRP 2017 is to address the critical nutrition situation in Somalia, that has significantly deteriorated due to ongoing drought, failed harvests and intensified food insecurity. About 363.000 acutely malnourished children need urgent treatment and nutrition support, including about 71.000 who are severely malnourished. Puntland has been most severely affected by the ongoing drought (2016 was the driest calendar year in Bari region since 1985) and while entering the coming lean season, malnutrition rates are expected to further increase with over 5 million people who will face severe food insecurity (ACAPS). In December 2016, SC carried out a Nutrition Survey in Puntland in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), being the key implementing partner and Lead for the MoH in Puntland concerning Health and Nutrition. This survey reveals Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates of 18.0% (Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) 3.1%) which is above WHO emergency threshold. This is a sharp increase in GAM compared to the results of a SMART survey of July 2016 which showed GAM of 10.5% (SAM 2.0%). The surveys also indicated high prevalence of childhood illness, insufficient Infant young child (IYCF) feeding practices and poor sanitation and hygiene practices. Strengthening these findings is an inter-agency rapid need assessment conducted in Puntland showing that 52% of the assessed villages have no access to nutrition intervention. Based on this information, and in close collaboration with the MoH, SC has selected 6 locations in Puntland that face critical food insecurity/nutrition rates - two of which were also targeted in JR1 – to implement a nutrition response that is in line with the nutrition objectives 1, 2 and 4 of the HRP 2017, integrated with an existing SC health programme in the same locations. SC is currently the lead partner on health and nutrition supporting the government to ensure wide coverage of Health and Nutrition interventions. As such SC is providing nutrition support to pastoralist and IDP communities, including in-patient and outpatient treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). Through this project SC supports the MoH in Puntland with 6 Mobile Nutrition Teams (MNT), providing Nutrition services to children under 5 also to PLW through remote Primary Health Clinics (PHC’s) that currently receive health support. The MNT are self-contained teams of trained nutrition staff carrying all necessary supplies to treat Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) without medical complications. Each MNT will support 5 PHC which have been selected based on their remote location, high nutrition prevalence and current lack of nutrition services. However the MNT remain highly flexible to adapt to the changing needs as can be expected when servicing pastoralist communities. By providing nutrition support through PHU, SC ensures beneficiaries are also supported through health sector interventions. SC specifically targets the most vulnerable groups of society, namely severely and moderately malnourished infants and children under five years of age, and pregnant and lactating women living in pastoralist and IDP communities. These target groups are of particular risk of malnutrition in emergencies due to their increased nutritional needs coupled with their reduced access, availability and utilization of food in the current context.