16 September 2020 SHF Reserve Allocation Flood response (Banadir, Hiraan, Lower Juba, Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle) Project proposal deadline: 21 September, 2020 23h45 (Mogadishu/Nairobi) Proposals can only by submitted by the eligible SHF partners through the SHF Grant Management 1. Allocation summary This document lays out the approach to allocating funds from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) Reserve for flood response to the most affected locations in Banadir, Hiraan, Lower Juba, Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle. The SHF allocation of US$ 9.26 million will support priority life-saving humanitarian interventions through the best placed partners present in the targeted areas. 2. Context Barely out of a wetter than normal Gu rainy season, communities in south and central Somalia are grappling with a new wave of flooding during the Hagaa season in low lying areas along the Juba and Shabelle rivers. The impact of the ongoing flooding compounded by economic and social impacts of COVID-19, escalated conflict, and forecast of below-average Gu rainfall from October to December 2020 may result in further deterioration of humanitarian outcomes for affected communities through 2021. The floods have been triggered by heavy, above-average rainfall locally and in upstream areas in the Ethiopian highlands and have affected Gedo, Hiraan, Middle Juba, and Middle and Lower Shabelle regions. The situation has been exacerbated by weak river embankments and open riverbanks. Recent analysis by SWALIM indicates that there are 109 open riverbank points along the Shabelle River. The worst affected districts are Balcad, Jowhar and Mahaday in Middle Shabelle (Hirshabelle); Afgooye and Wanlaweyn districts in Lower Shabelle (South West State) and Belet Weyne (Hiraan) where over 85 per cent of the displacement has occurred. Somalia’s marginalised communities and internally displaced persons are expected to most severely be affected by the impact of the floods. Many disadvantaged communities and IDP settlements are located in areas prone to flooding and sometimes flash floods. Their shelters provide insufficient protection against heavy rains and winds. The Shelter Cluster estimates that 150,000 people need urgent shelter and NFI assistance Thus far, an estimated 132,000 hectares (ha) of agricultural land and 294 villages along the Shabelle River have been affected by the Hagaa floods. Almost 250,000 people have been affected, of whom 125,000 have been displaced. The floods temporarily displaced households to higher ground in several flood-prone areas, including in Beletweyne and Jalalaqsi districts (Hiraan), Balcad and Jowhar districts (Middle Shabelle), and Afgooye district (Lower Shabelle). Even though flood waters are reported to have receded and 40 per cent of the 86,900 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Middle Shabelle have returned to the homes, Balcad District still hosts the largest number of this group. New displacements and further disruption to livelihoods are expected as foreseen moderate to heavy rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands is likely to raise Shabelle River levels over the coming weeks, likely resulting in additional flooding in the middle and lower reaches of the Shabelle. Of particular concern is Jowhar town and its environs in Middle Shabelle, where the river level is near full crest, and other riverine towns in the Lower Shabelle region. Food assistance needs in Somalia are already high with an estimated 3.5 million people in rural livelihood zones, urban areas, and IDP settlements in need of food assistance. In riverine areas, farmers have suffered from multiple flood events during the Gu and Hagaa 2020 seasons, which damaged Deyr 2019/20 off-season crops and Gu 2020 main season crops. As a result, the main Gu harvest in July/August is up to 40 per cent below the long-term average SHF Reserve: Flood response (September 2020) 1 16 September 2020 in these areas. In addition, escalated conflict in Lower Shabelle suspended cropping activities in Qoryooley, Marka, Afgooye, and Wanlaweyn districts and displaced large populations to Mogadishu. The Hagaa floods in July/August have had mixed effects. While the floods disrupted recessional cultivation activities and inundated crops, the rains are supporting late planted Gu main season crops and Gu off-season crops. This comes amid alleviated fears that the forecast of a below-average Hagaa season would deplete soil moisture and negatively affect off-season crops. In general, farmers have benefitted from improved access to water for irrigation. Worryingly however, the damage to road infrastructure and market access have adversely affected the terms of trade with higher prices of maize, and significantly lowering the prices for goats and daily labour wage rates by up to 30 and 102 per cent respectively below the five-year average. The attendant effects of the flooding are already being felt in other sectors not least among them the provision of basic services. A cholera outbreak fuelled by limited access to safe drinking water, poor sanitation and displacement has already been reported in some of the flood affected districts, underscoring the need for urgent repair and rehabilitation to damaged WASH infrastructure and the provision of clean water. More cases of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) are being reported in children under five years old, who are particularly vulnerable to disease, especially if their immune systems are compromised by malnutrition. While the response is already underway, the WASH Cluster has reported critical gaps in Balcad, Marka and Wanlaweyn where no WASH assistance has been received despite high risk levels for AWD. Primary health care visits and vaccination coverage have sharply declined in Somalia amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, raising concerns that vaccine preventable diseases such as respiratory infections and AWD as well as malnutrition could be going untreated, all while floods have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. While the healthcare system’s resources are already limited and overstretched, this development could easily degenerate into a public health crisis without sustained outreach to those at risk. As is the case with disasters, flooding heightens the risk of family separation, and causes severe distress for children due to the shock and loss of homes and disruption in daily life, as well as a potential increase in gender-based violence (GBV) due to a breakdown in community structures, law and order, and a lack of physical protection. Violence against children, both inside and outside of the home, has increased as families are in confined spaces, with limited resources and heightened stress. The reopening of schools this September offers the opportunity to provide child-friendly spaces (CFSs) that provide educational and psychosocial support and other activities that restore a sense of normality and continuity. However, after schools reopened mid-August, partners in Hirshabelle (Middle Shabelle) reported eight (8) schools with an enrolment of 1356 (612 girls) learners have been affected by the floods. As a result, schools are not safe for children to learn. These affected schools require adequate learning spaces and WASH facilities, water, soap and sanitizers and psychosocial support for the students. 3. SHF response strategy The following, based on the SHF principles guiding 2020 allocations, will apply for this response: • Continued focus on lifesaving humanitarian response on lifesaving humanitarian response with focus on, if and when possible, underserved and hard-to access areas; • Ensuring the centrality of protection in all SHF-funded interventions; • Prioritization of direct implementation through international and national non-governmental partners • Support for local partners (if and where feasible) • Continue supporting integration of response across clusters and complementarity with other funding sources In view of the Fund’s reduced oversight due to COVID -19 pandemic, and the requirement to maintain accountability over the use of funds, the allocation process will also be guided by SHF Flexibility Guidance. Therefore, unlike SHF Reserve: Flood response (September 2020) 2 16 September 2020 other allocations, and as a mitigation measure to reduce the overall financial risk to the Fund, the amount of funds and number of projects to one partner will be minimized to spread the risk as much as possible across several partners. Thus, this allocation will be limited to eligible partners who did not receive funds from either the 2020 First Standard Allocation or 2020 reserve funds, with the exception that that they are no other partners with the requisite capacity to implement prioritized interventions. The response strategy is designed to boost the ongoing lifesaving assistance and will target the most vulnerable individuals and households in the worst affected areas as outlined below, through the following approach: 1) Cluster specific: Up to 88% ($8.18 million) to be set aside for priority activities in Food Security, Health, Logistics, Protection (with emphasis on child protection and GBV), Shelter/NFI, and WASH clusters 2) Integrated response – 12% ($1.08 million) of the allocation will support two integrated packages mainly • Integrated Health and Nutrition activities • Integrated Education/Child Protection/WASH activities Table 1: Allocation envelopes Cluster Integrated % of Cluster Specific interventions package (A) CCCM 260,000 3% $8.18M (88 %) Food Security and Livelihoods 1,300,000 16% Health 120,000