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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This rapid assessment was used to find out the effect of drought on children and women in Somaliland to understand the gaps and challenges faced by children and women living in the areas affected by drought in order to develop a comprehensive response plan for the drought.
The rapid assessment was carried out from 15th to 17th February 2022 in rural areas of all regions in Somaliland. The survey adopted a mixed research design for gathering qualitative and quantitative data from the respondents. It particularly used a cross-sectional survey design to garner data from a large number of respondents. It adopted a survey interview method and FGD for the implementation of the data collection procedure. The rapid assessment was applied in an interview guide – encompassed closed-ended and open-ended items, and FGD guide tools for directing recording data from research participants. Trained enumerators conducted the survey interview using Mobile Tech but the FGDs researchers / social-workers with comprehensive research skills conducted it. The sampling approaches were stratified probability sampling and purposive non-probability sampling. The sampling frame of the assessment was drawn from the PESS (UNFPA, 2014) and it was used in a sample size of 1,575, and 13 FGDs. The sample size was 1575 determined using an Online Sample Size Determination Calculator. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the thematic analysis method. Further, research ethics were highly appreciated to safeguard the rights of respondents’ identities, integrity, and personal privacy as well as reporting the data as a block instead of highlighting individual cases.
From the analysis of the rapid assessment, the main findings are as follows Demographics – 29 percent of respondents were from Maroodijeex, 19 percent were from Awdal, 20 percent were from Togdheer, 8 percent were from Saaxil, 15 percent were from Sanaag, and 9 percent were from Sool as well as their respective districts and villages – 78 percent of the respondents stated that they are pastoralists. Most of the people in the various regions were pastoralists, however, most agropastoralists are in the regions of Maroodijeex (10.25 percent), Awdal (7.08 percent), and Togdheer (5.16 percent). This is suggesting considering the appropriate support to each category of people.
55 percent of respondents were female while this is also important of the assessment as women can actually present how the drought affected them.
71 percent of respondents were never attended school this is because as the interview was targeted to the people in rural areas, schools are not either available in their respective locations or the schooling system was established recently as the interviewed were only adults.
Most of those who never attended schools were female (41.07 percent). The second most respondents stated that they attended primary schools (15.78 percent) yet more men attended primary schools than women. This is suggesting the need for extension of the educational system in rural areas giving them appropriate support including building schools, parent awareness to enroll their children in schools, and particularly promoting girls’ education in rural areas.
Maroodijeex, Sanaag, and Sool regions are regions that women who never attended school are very high and much higher than men; 18.41 percent,
10.47 percent, and 5.42 percent respectively as compared their counterparts’ men.
44 percent of the interviewed females and 41 percent males were married respectively which means as most of the respondents were responsible for families, they could truly reflect the effect of drought on their households, particularly children and women. The others were divorced, widowed, and single; 3.64 percent, 6.81 percent, and 4.83 percent respectively.
32 percent of the respondents were aged between 31 – 40 and 23 percent were aged between 41 – 50.
47.2 percent had female household heads including widowed, divorcee, and single females; 5.56 percent, 2.58 percent, and 1.19 percent respectively.
Household Size:
The average household size of the surveyed households was 7.5.
89.55 percent of the interviewed households had children with the maximum number of children of 13 and the minimum number of children of 1 child.
The average number of children of 5.7 with the average number of girls of 2.83 and boys of 2.96. This is suggesting that the average numbers of children of girls and boys are almost similar in the interviewed households.
The assessment found that 17 percent of the surveyed HHs have at least one child with an impairment and they confirmed that children with special needs are more affected by the drought than children without impairment.
Maroodijeex and Togdheer account for more than half of the disabled children with specific needs and compared to other regions; Maroodijeex (35 percent) and Togdheer (16 percent), Sool (18 percent), Sanaag (13 percent), Awdal (11 percent), and Saaxil (7 percent).
Drought Intensity:
According to respondents, drought exists in all regions in Somaliland but with various intensities of either severe drought (40.90 percent), extreme drought (22.43 percent), or moderate drought (24.93 percent) in almost all rural areas. Therefore, this suggests that there is a need for urgent support to rural people such as the distribution of food, water, medicine, and fodder for the livestock.
The drought is very tense in Baligubadle, Salaxley, Sawanaag, and Faroweyne districts in Maroodijeex, villages under Oodweyne, Buhoodle, and Burco districts in Togdheer, Lughaya, and Saylac districts in Awdal, Ceel-Afweyn, and Badhan districts in Sanaag, as well as Xudun and Laascaanood districts in Sool.
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