Covid-19: On-the-record update on challenges facing displaced people in Somalia

"2.6 million people in Somalia have already been displaced by conflict or climatic shocks. How do we ask millions of people to 'stay at home' and 'wash your hands' when they live in congested makeshift shelters and ration meagre water supplies each day? How can we encourage social isolation when people rely on daily wage labour to meet their basic needs?

"Like many countries in this region, Somalia is resilient and resourceful, but it cannot be left to contend with this crisis alone. For the global community to take hold of a global problem, we must find and fund fitting global solutions."

Quote from a displaced mother worried about the spread of the virus.

"We have nowhere to escape the virus and we have no way to control it. There’s a scarcity of water in the camp. Bottled water is expensive. We used to buy it for almost $2 but it is now sold at $3. We have no soap to wash or disinfectant, we have nothing."

Latest updates:

• As of Monday, April 20, Somalia has confirmed 164 cases of Covid-19 and seven deaths and is braced for the widespread impact of the virus, particularly on more than 2.15 million with insufficient shelter, and 2.7 million without adequate access to water and sanitation facilities.
• As the Covid-19 pandemic takes hold in Somalia, government agencies, with support from humanitarian and development actors, have made considerable efforts to contain the risk of virus-spread in the country. Border closures, curfews, restrictions on gatherings and quarantine measures have all sought to limit movement while mass messaging by mobile phone, radio, social media and through influential community leaders has focused on handwashing, hygiene and social distancing practices.
• A recent NRC Somalia survey: A cough that kills people: views of Covid-19 in Somalia's displacement-affected communities, found that lack of hygiene facilities and food access are of ‘main concern’ to displaced Somalis.
• The majority of respondents (92 per cent) said school closures were affecting their daily life as well as market inflation (67 per cent), community panic (64 per cent) and work stoppages (60 per cent).
• On issues relating to the capacity of communities to prevent the spread of Covid-19, congestion and overcrowding was identified most, by 84.8 per cent of respondents.
• A lack of hygiene items and facilities was the next most prevalent concern, identified by 81.7 per cent of respondents, followed by a lack of access to testing and treatment services (73.1 per cent), low levels of awareness about the virus (72 per cent) and a lack of water for handwashing (71.3 per cent).
• Close to a third of respondents (32.9 per cent) identified issues relating to anticipated economic hardship, difficulties sustaining casual labour, inflation and inability to access basic needs as a principal concern.
• Despite considerable containment and preparedness efforts, the country has extremely limited institutional capacity for virus detection, tracing, surveillance, laboratory testing, case management and clinical care.
• While official messaging reflects World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance and prevailing lessons from countries that have managed to contain an outbreak of Covid-19, it presents significant challenges for large populations with limited access to soap and water, highly congested and inadequate shelter, and reliance on daily wage labour to meet basic needs.
• The Global Humanitarian Response Plan for Covid-19 recognises the 6 million internally displaced people (IDPs) as among the most affected and at-risk populations in Somalia, noting that people have "limited access to quality essential health care and water and sanitation services and live in crowded urban and semi-urban areas."
• A consolidated effort is required from all authorities, humanitarian and development actors to help mitigate the direct and collateral impacts of the virus, the foundation for which depends on clear, two-way communication and partnerships to help understand how displacement-affected communities see risks and how they want to address them.