Jubaland forms drought response committee as water crisis deepens; 1.5 million need aid, OCHA says
KISMAYO, Somalia — Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam “Madobe” has appointed a seven-member committee to steer the region’s response to a worsening drought, as aid agencies warn of escalating food insecurity and water shortages across southern Somalia.
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The decree, released Sunday, empowers an interministerial body to organize relief operations, accelerate aid delivery and coordinate with humanitarian partners. The committee will be chaired by the minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management and includes senior officials overseeing interior, energy and water, livestock and rangeland, health, women and family affairs, and youth and sports.
Authorities said the body will assess urgent needs and direct assistance to the hardest-hit districts, where families are contending with scarce and costly water, deteriorating pasture and weakening livestock that underpin rural livelihoods.
Jubaland’s move follows a rapid drought assessment published late last month by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The assessment found about 1.5 million people in the state need assistance, 78 percent of households face food insecurity and more than 2 million livestock are at risk. The findings were included in OCHA’s Nov. 27 situation report.
Nearly all districts in Jubaland are affected by persistent dry conditions, according to humanitarian partners, with Kismayo, Badhaadhe, Ceel Waaq, Bua’ale, Afmadow and Garbahaarey among the worst-affected. In Gedo region alone, an estimated 33,496 households — roughly 200,000 people — across Baardheere, Luuq, Belet Xaawo, Ceel Waaq, Doolow, Garbahaarey and Buurdhuubo face critical water shortages as boreholes, shallow wells and water pans run dry. The price of a 200-liter barrel of water has risen to $6 in some areas from about $2.50, stretching already thin household budgets.
Aid groups report mounting pressure on water points and pastoral livelihoods, with new displacement as families leave arid rural areas for towns such as Afmadow and Dhobley. Ongoing conflict has further strained local services; roughly 4,000 families have been displaced from Jamame district in Lower Juba by violence in recent weeks, according to partners.
Despite limited resources, some relief operations are underway. In Ceel Waaq district, Jubaland authorities, working with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and a national partner, recently distributed food assistance to 1,000 displaced families. Around Kismayo, an international partner is constructing two water dams in Qandal and Fuma to improve access and strengthen resilience for about 1,600 households, OCHA said.
Madobe urged the new committee to act quickly and transparently to blunt the impacts of failed rains that have disrupted livelihoods across Jubaland, warning that delays could deepen the crisis for vulnerable families already struggling with livestock losses and water scarcity.
The announcement lands amid a heated political standoff between Jubaland and Somalia’s federal government. Regional authorities say constitutional amendments removing references to federal member states have effectively changed Jubaland’s status, and the region now asserts it operates as an independent government. The confrontation intensified after Jubaland extended presidential term limits in 2024 and re-elected Madobe in a vote Mogadishu declared unconstitutional, prompting competing arrest warrants, armed clashes in border districts and mediation led by Kenya.
Humanitarian indicators suggest needs will keep rising without swift, scaled assistance. Nationally, at least 4.4 million people — more than one-fifth of Somalia’s population — are projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity between October and December 2025, and an estimated 1.85 million children under 5 are expected to suffer acute malnutrition through July 2026, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis cited by OCHA. The U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for drought early action in Somalia, targeting more than 603,000 people, but the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 23.7 percent funded.
Jubaland officials said the newly formed committee will serve as the central command for drought response planning and coordination, aiming to ensure state agencies and international organizations can channel resources where they are most needed as conditions deteriorate.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
