Rapid real-time review: DFID Somalia drought response

Our overall assessment of the DFID response and the assessment of all of those interviewed is largely positive. DFID’s funding was timely, significant and helped to avert a potential famine. It helped to galvanise other donors and action on the part of the overall humanitarian system. DFID staff were well informed, actively engaged in working within the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and coordinated well with other donors. DFID robustly encouraged the agencies it was funding to swiftly scale up their response.

DFID provided £170 million of humanitarian funding in 2017 in response to a clear humanitarian crisis where there was a threat of famine, crisis levels of malnutrition, a cholera outbreak and a million people displaced. DFID funding was focussed on health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and food security. It supported large-scale cash transfers to alleviate food insecurity, treatment of acute malnutrition, support to health care and access to clean water. Funding was provided to UN agencies and NGO consortia.