Somaliland

Somaliland is an autonomous region of Somalia where ActionAid works to end hunger and respond to drought, prevent FGM, get children into school and support women to earn a living.

In 2017 we responded to the East Africa crisis by working with communities in Somaliland to provide thousands of women and children with urgently needed food and water. 

But years of severe drought and disasters driven by climate change have pushed people in Somaliland to the brink of crisis. 

UN figures now show 2.2 million people across Somalia and Somaliland are at risk of starvation.1 Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people across Somaliland have been internally displaced, often to seriously overcrowded displacement camps. 

Coronavirus in Somaliland

We are currently responding to the Covid-19 crisis as it affects vulnerable communities in Somalia, where ActionAid works in the autonomous area of Somaliland.

Millions of lives are at stake as Covid-19 hits refugee or displacement camps like those in Somaliland and war-torn countries like Somalia.

More than half a million internally displaced people were in critical need in Somaliland, many of them living in camps - even before the Covid-19 crisis began. Coronavirus cases are now increasing every day.   

Healthcare provision is inadequate: there are only two ventilators in Somaliland, for a population of over four million. Women and young girls are particularly vulnerable: there are reports of an increase in gender-based violence and, due to the closure of schools, young girls are at a high risk of undergoing FGM.  

ActionAid is supporting awareness-raising about the virus across Somaliland, establishing hand-washing stations, distributing soap, and supplying water. 

We have trained 60 young volunteers to reach 30,000 people raising awareness door-to-door. 

We’re also distributing aid including food and shelter kits.

If we act now to protect millions of vulnerable refugees and displaced people, many lives can be saved. Please donate now. 

Donate to the DEC coronavirus appeal now

Why we work in Somaliland

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after a war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

A self-governing, autonomous area in northern Somalia, it has its own government, police force and currency, however, it is yet to be recognised internationally.

Unemployment is widespread and around a tenth of children die before their first birthday.

In 1992, ActionAid Somaliland opened its first office and began working with local partners to rebuild conflict-scarred communities and equip women with the tools they need to combat injustice.

Somaliland is incredibly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions and regularly suffers from drought. Since half of Somaliland's rural population are nomadic pastoralists who rely on livestock rearing, hunger is rife. 

The 2017 drought caused a humanitarian crisis in Somaliland, with millions of people at risk of famine and forced to travel huge distances in search of food. 80% of livestock died in the hardest-hit areas. 

• 1. https://cerf.un.org/news/press-release/un-emergency-fund-allocates-us45-million-stave-famine-risk-horn-africa ↩