Hassan Istiila
Monday March 11, 2024
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali Prime Minister Hamsa Abdi Barre held a meeting with an international delegation led by the Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, Mafalda Duarte, at the Prime Minister's office in Mogadishu on Sunday.
Several Ministers, including the Minister of Climate Change, Minister of Education, Minister of Agriculture, Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama, and other environmental conservation advisors, attended the meeting to discuss the problems caused by climate change in the country and the response efforts.
Prime Minister Barre emphasized the need for joint action and support to address the effects of climate change, highlighting that the government has prepared a comprehensive strategic plan to prevent and strengthen resilience to climate change issues.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Khadija Mohamed Al-Makhzoumi stated they explored avenues for accessing Green Climate Fund resources and discussed the Somali government's readiness to address these challenges.
She recognized that climate change requires collective action and unwavering support, stating, "We explored how we are prepared to establish a collaborative framework with the GCF. We also discussed our GCF country programme, our climate finance policy, Somali NDC, NAP, and the strength of our institutions to access climate finance."
The Green Climate Fund, the world's largest multilateral climate fund, since August 1, 2023, seeks to mobilize funding at scale to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient development on the planet.
Somalia is one of the planet's most vulnerable countries to climate change. This vulnerability arises from a combination of socioeconomic, political, and geographic conditions. More than 80% of Somalia's landmass comprises arid and semi-arid lands, which are particularly prone to extreme weather conditions, including high mean surface temperatures, prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, and strong winds.
Droughts occur frequently and are often followed by devastating floods.
The recent El Niño rains have affected more than 2.5 million people in Somalia, leading to the displacement of 1.2 million people from their homes and causing 118 deaths. Since January 2024, a total of 2,943 new cholera cases and 26 deaths have been reported in Somalia.
Despite being highly vulnerable to climatic shocks, Somalia receives only about $300 million annually for climate change programs, primarily reactive rather than preventive. This amount falls short of the required $16 billion before 2030, as outlined in Somalia's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).