Emergency relief
A lifeline for the displaced
6 million Somalis (31%) need humanitarian aid
3.8 million (20%) displaced by conflict and climate change
2.5 million (13%) affected by floods in 2023 alone
Our life-saving emergency programmes
In 2024 Zamzam Foundation provided vital food aid, shelter kits and cash assistance to 82,736 people affected by drought, floods, and conflict.
You can provide a lifeline to displaced families by supporting our life-saving work to provide emergency relief in Somalia.
We prioritise meeting the basic needs of the most vulnerable among people driven from their homes by extremes of weather or by conflict. That means we focus on providing food, water, healthcare and shelter. In some camps we also provide education for children who would otherwise miss out.
In 2024 conflict was the main driver of internal displacement, accounting for 53 per cent of the 477,000 displacements recorded between January and November. Our emergency response supported families driven from their homes by conflict.
We also supported people affected by floods and drought, which increasingly alternate in Somalia in a cycle of climate extremes that can be devastating for livelihoods and food security.
In April and May we responded to flooding caused by heavy Gu seasonal rains, which displaced 81,000 people across 13 districts. Later in the year our teams increasingly supported people affected by lack of rain, with farmers struggling again as areas of southern and central Somalia received only 30 to 45 per cent of average seasonal rainfall in October and November.
Partnership is pivotal in delivering an effective humanitarian response in major emergencies. We are a member of the Somalia NGO Consortium, working closely with UN bodies and other aid agencies in a coordinated way to save lives.
Prevention and preparation are just as important as rapid response when it comes to dealing with emergencies. In 2023 we initiated new projects in partnership with Save the Children and International Rescue Committee to reduce humanitarian needs and displacement and strengthen livelihoods under the Building Resilient Communities in Somalia (BRCIS) programme, funded by the UK Government and the European Union
The BRCIS III programme in which we are participating is providing wide-ranging support to over a million vulnerable people across 20 districts through a combination of interventions:
- Crisis early warning systems to ensure aid agencies and communities are better prepared when disaster strikes
- Self-help groups and better market access for farmers
- Climate-resilient water facilities
- Measures to strengthen farming co-operatives, conserve soil and water resources, and regenerate parched grazing land.
82,000
People given emergency assistance
58,746
People given food aid and hot meals
A donation to our emergencies fund provides a lifeline to vulnerable people who have lost their livelihoods because it is not safe or economically viable to remain in their home villages
Success story
Dhigan Adan Mohamed lives in Dhalandool, an overcrowded camp for displaced people in the south-central city of Baidoa.
“We were fortunate to be selected as beneficiaries of Zamzam’s housing project, which has provided us with a permanent shelter,” she says. “Before we had this house, we lived in a makeshift shelter, struggling with overcrowding and lack of privacy and exposure to the elements.”
Every day is a long day for Dhigan, fetching water and preparing meals for her seven children while finding what casual work she can in the limited time in between. “With a roof over our heads, we can focus on rebuilding our lives and planning for the future,” she says.
