For several months since late 2016, Somalia has been on the brink of famine. Parts of the country have not received any rain for three consecutive years. In some areas, crops have been completely wiped out and livestock has died; communities have been forced to sell assets and to borrow food and money to survive. An intervention as simple as a dam - built by UNDP in partnership with the Global Environment Facility - helps people suffering from recurrent climate disasters recover and find hope again. Such small water infrastructure provides them with longer-term access to nutritious food, restores their livelihoods, and promises communities a better quality of life. Read Ismail's and Deqa's story to find out more.

Jubbaland State authorities have launched a landmark Local Government Law and started district council formation process for five districts across the State. The launch of the law and council formation process lays the foundation for the roll out of local governance services to Somali people in Jubbaland.

“Innovation in the field of renewable sources of energy has a huge potential in Somalia, particularly at a time when the construction industry is booming with many Somalis investing in restoring their lost dwellings, and the government in public buildings and basic social infrastructure.” (George Conway, UNDP Country Director, inaugurating a solar system at the Office of Prime Minister in Mogadishu)

Ruun Abdi (43) sits beside a community elder in an internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Garowe, in the State of Puntland, north eastern Somalia. She is telling her story and watching carefully as a paralegal writes it down. Like many women in the camp, Ruun has received legal aid support from the Puntland Legal Aid Centre, after she had sought advice for a financial dispute she was having with her husband.

In the wake of a severe drought in Somalia that has displaced more than 800,000 people, the Government of Somalia has joined forces with IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and the United Nations Development Programme to enhance its drought response capacity. The three partners organized four-day training from 1–4 August to build displacement management capacity, focusing on Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), improved humanitarian coordination and information management, and early recovery.

A knowledge sharing tour of mobile courts and legal aid has taken place in Puntland, with the aim of speeding up the roll out of mobile courts across the four emerging Federal Member States. Judicial officials from Jubbaland, South West State, Hirshabelle and Galmudug traveled to Garowe for the week long event to observe how mobile courts in Puntland carry out their work, so that they can replicate the courts successfully in their own states.

In a visit to Adaado, Galmudug, David Akopyan, Deputy Country Director, has inaugurated together with the Vice President of the State H.E. Mohamed Hash Arabey new offices and conference facilities. The new buildings - built by UNDP's Support to Emerging Federal States Project - will allow the state to carry out its disaster management work more effectively. The need for Member States and the Federal Government of Somalia to build reliable disaster management and crises coordination systems was discussed, as well as the role that various government entities currently play in responding to the drought crisis.

A 15-person high-profile delegation from the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Member States and the Somali Local Governance Institute have visited the Uganda Management Institute, to gain first-hand experience on how civil service training is carried out in the country. The delegates aim to develop an effective civil service training in Somalia. The visit was supported by the United Nations Development Programme under the UN Joint Programme on Local Governance.

A new training curriculum for the Somali judiciary has been launched by the Federal Government of Somalia, with the Minister of Justice H.E. Hassan Hussein Haji, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Hasan Ibrahim Idle Suleiman, and the Attorney General, Ahmed Ali Dahir, in attendance. The training course will be rolled out in Mogadishu as well as in Jubbaland, Southwest State, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, and Puntland, and will be run in collaboration with the Faculty of Law at Mogadishu University. Over three hundred and fifty judges, prosecutors and registrars will be trained as part of the programme in 2017.

Authorities from the South West State, one of Somalia’s emerging Federal Member States, officially launched a Local Government Law and kicked off the district council formation process in the state. The launch of the law on local government and commencement of the District Council formation process means that these efforts can now officially move forward in the State.

Delegates from the European Union, Sweden and Switzerland visited Kismayo in Jubbaland, as part of a United Nations facilitated donor tour. During the tour the delegates officially handed over new offices to the Jubbaland Civil Service Commission, which were rehabilitated for the Commission’s use by UNDP’s Support for Emerging Federal States Project.

In preparation for ‘one person, one vote’ elections in Somalia in 2020–2021, delegates from Palestine, Iraq, Sudan, Jordan, Yemen, Tunis, Nigeria, and Kenya meet in Nairobi to share experiences on political parties registration with Somalia’s Electoral Commission members; here Commissioner Hussein Abdi Adam, NIEC Somalia, with Anis Abu Al-Sebaa, Head of Political Parties Section, Central Election Commission, Palestine (left to right).

The Federal Government of Somalia has reiterated its commitment to unify the country to achieve lasting peace and stability. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the National Reconciliation Conference in Mogadishu on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Ahmed Guled said Somalia needs political and religious reconciliation, which has remained elusive because of conflict.

With funding from Japan, the United Nations Joint Rule of Law Programme handed over to the Somali Police and the Ministry of Internal Security essential equipment such as vehicles, furniture and solar power for 24 police stations, amounting to US$ 2.4 million.

Supported by the UN Rule of Law programme, 45 scholarship recipients, including 15 women, this year graduated with a Bachelor in Law from the Faculty of Law of Puntland State University. Launched in 2008, the Puntland State University scholarship programme aims to increase the number of qualified lawyers, prosecutors and judges to strengthen the capacity and service delivery of justice institutions.

On 19 May in Nairobi, the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs (MoCA) along with the Speakers of the National Federal Parliament introduced to international partners in Nairobi a master plan for the review of Somalia’s Provisional Constitution (2012). Extensive consultations with regional administrations, the National Federal Parliament and civil society will lead to the drafting of a new Federal Constitution, which will set a framework for the national elections in 2020.