Severe drought in Somali region triggers insurance payout for affected communities

More than 25,000 families in Somali region are to reap the benefits of a climate risk microinsurance scheme, through a payout triggered this week in order to cope with the devastating impacts of drought in 2021, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). WFP and the Somali Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Natural Resources with Insurance Pool members recognised the climate risk insurance payout at a ceremony held in Jijiga on Monday 20 December. WFP will be distributing the 42 million Ethiopian Birr (US $900,000) from this payout through cash-based transfers from this week. Climate change is intensifying drought in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, which is experiencing its third-consecutive below-average rainfall season. As a result, according to the Somali Region Drought Response Plan December 2021, up to 3.3 million people in the region will fall into acute hunger through mid-2022 and roughly 2.2 million people are currently facing water shortages. Already, more than 62,000 livestock have died in the region due to the drought.