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Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy
Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

  • Publication | 2023
Somalia: drought and rising costs take hold
Global Food and Nutrition Security

Key messages: ƒ

  • Inflation is impacting people’s ability to afford basic food items and livelihood inputs. The economic impact on farming and pastoral livelihoods is having a knock-on effect for other economic activities that rely on their trade.

  • Actions being described by interviewees are predominately short-term coping and survival strategies, rather than longterm adaptation to mitigate the environmental and economic shocks they are experiencing.

  • While the accumulation of debt is part of economic life in Somalia, interviews were unable to uncover either whether the current level of borrowing is beyond people’s means, or the long-term implications for households of this borrowing. Answering these questions will be important for understanding household recovery.

  • Lack of violence within the communities interviewed should be noted for future lessons on mitigating conflict risk. Despite the pressures that people are facing, community-based support and conflict-resolution mechanisms are helping to manage tensions.