In ka badan 100 saxeexe oo iskugu jira aqoonyahan, hay’ado caalami ah, kuwo maxali ah, iyo jaamacaddo kale duwan ayaa bayaan ay soo saareen waxa ay kaga dayriyeen xaalada soo wajahday XAWILAADAHA lacagta ee Soomalida, taasi oo hoos u dhac wayni ku yimid intii ay lagu jiray xaaladan adage e cudurka COVID19. Fadlan lifaaqan kale dag xogta ay soo sareen iyo war-saxafadeed la xidhiidhaha arinta xawalahada soomalida oo aad dhaqalaha ugu muhiim ah.
Somali communities face dropping remittances and wider economic impact amid COVID-19 crisis A warning from activists, aid workers & academia
Roughly half of all Somali households rely on remittances to cover basic needs such as food, water and basic health care. According to Somali money transfer operators (MTOs), remittances have already declined substantially since the onset of COVID-19 due to economic pressures on members of the Somali diaspora. This is a global phenomenon, with the World Bank projecting that remittances will drop 20% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, and Somali communities will feel this acutely, with communities that are already vulnerable, who rely so centrally to remittance flows, and who are already facing many barriers to their delivery.
The potentially huge economic impact of reduced remittances on vulnerable communities in Somalia/Somaliland comes amidst other ongoing crises, which taken together could lead to famine, according to the UN’s World Food Programme. The UN estimates that in 2020, 4.1 million Somalis are food insecure, 2.6 million are internally displaced and over a third do not have enough water to cover their daily needs.
Somaliland/Somalia Drought response
The climate crisis has contributed to persistent droughts, flash floods and more recently a locust infestation, all amidst ongoing conflicts between government and clan actors and insurgent groups, most significantly Al Shabaab. The above average Gu rainy season predicted – normally a boon for most of the country in the medium term – could in the shorter term precipitate floods and will exacerbate the spread of locust swarms affecting some 360,000 hectares, which the FAO says are continuing to breed in the Somali territories. New swarms are expected to form in the coming weeks.
Many members of the Somali diaspora have lost their jobs and are unable to send as much, or any money at all to their relatives. In countries where no salary compensation schemes are in place – such as the Gulf countries – these losses are even greater. As women are increasing having to stay home to care for sick family members and children out of school remittances are often the only funds that female caregivers are able to access and control, making them a vital tool for women’s economic empowerment.
Even where people have the ability to remit, sending money in the time of coronavirus is proving more difficult for many due to social distancing measures and existing financial barriers, just as the effects of the pandemic begin to be felt on the receiving end of the remittance chain. As the virus forces many storefront MTO agents in diaspora countries to suspend operations and discourages consumers from leaving their homes, the remittance options for Somalis are becoming more limited. Some senders have been able to shift to sending payments through online systems, but not all senders have the technical skills or are willing to do so. Some MTOs have had their bank accounts closed due to bank concerns about falling afoul of counter-terrorism and de-risking anti-money laundering regulation; this prevents them from conducting online services. Moreover,
some Somali MTOs working are not able to reach remote communities, including IDP and refugee settlements and other places where the most vulnerable live.
MTOs not only provide the only viable mechanism to legally and transparently send money to Somalia/Somaliland, they also serve a dual function in terms of providing letters of credit to Somali traders who come to Dubai, Djibouti and other international hubs to purchase essential food and nonfood items for sale inside Somalia/Somaliland. With the shutdown of commercial air travel in and out of the UAE, there is a shortage of available hard currency in the trading hubs and a buildup of local currency domestically. This may drive prices up as traders find it more difficult to purchase essential items for import into Somali territories. For the most vulnerable Somali communities, these shortages and price rises will be disastrous.
The lack of access to foreign currency could also complicate the efforts of humanitarian organizations and governments to implement existing humanitarian programs and scale up the COVID-19 response through the purchase of medical supplies.
The onset of COVID-19 is also likely to contribute to reduced trade between Somalia/Somaliland and its regional partners – perhaps most clearly manifested by the possible cancellation of the Hajj by Saudi Arabia. Live animal export and other trade during the Hajj each year is vital for the Somali economy, contributing 85% of export earnings and 30% of the GDP and directly and indirectly employing 70% of the population. The sector has been boosted recently by the reopening of markets in Saudi Arabia, but this essential income would vanish if the Hajj later this year is cancelled. Those who will feel the effects most acutely will be poor Somalis all throughout the supply chains.
Somalia is in the early stages of exposure to the COVID19 pandemic. The dynamics we describe here can be expected to take place regardless of the trajectory of the virus in Somali areas. Steps being taken to institute social distancing include school and retail business closures, curfews, and restrictions on gathering. All of these steps are important to slowing the progression of the virus, but they also have economic costs, which include loss of household income, increased costs for care for those who are sick, and reduced income for government. Without the vital source of remittance income, many will have even less of an option to stay home as they will need to earn a living and meet their families’ urgent needs for food, medicine and more. Sadly, many of these forces are the same as those being faced by the senders of remittances – feeling the same restrictions and barriers on both ends of the relationship and transaction.
Recommendations We, a collective of Somali and international NGOs and academics, urge:
- The US and European governments to facilitate urgent wiring or other payment settlement mechanisms for Somali MTOs: A. The US government to take urgent action to ensure that Somali remittance lifelines remains intact. The US Treasury Department and banking agencies can facilitate emergency transfers from the US and
help create an enabling environment globally for Somali MTOs to access banking services. B. Treasuries in the US and European countries and banking agencies to clarify that a) banks are not discouraged from offering services to customers they regard as “high-risk,” and b) banks are encouraged to open accounts and offer wiring services to Somali MTOs, as they are able, on a humanitarian basis. 2. International banks to work in collaboration with Somali MTOs, governments, and civil society leaders to offer wiring services on a nondiscriminatory basis. 3. Somali MTOs to develop and encourage the use of online remittance services for their customers in the diaspora and to expand their reach into more remote and vulnerable communities 4. Somali officials to facilitate an enabling environment for mobile money transfer systems and online remittance platforms, both into the country and out of the country so that essential goods can be imported. 5. The UN and international NGOs to work to ease the liquidity and potential price inflation crisis by paying for goods and services to be delivered in Somali communities through payments to the foreign currency accounts of providers. 6. Somali officials and donor governments – in collaboration with UN agencies and local and international NGOs: A. to scale up and prioritize social security policies such as cash and voucher transfer programmes, feeding programmes for vulnerable children who are unable to take advantage of school feeding programmes due to school closure, herd destocking as necessary, and provision of health and water services to the most needy. B. to monitor remittance flows carefully and to address the impact of reduced remittances in their humanitarian needs planning and responses by programming additional funds for the activities given in point 6A above.
Endorsements of this warning By Activists, aid workers & academia
1 Oxfam 2 Nexus (http://nexusom.org/) 3 African Development Solutions (Adeso) 4 African Community Housing and Development(Hamdi Abdulle WA) 5 Laura Hammond, Professor, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) 6 Nisar Majid, London School of Economics (LSE) 7 Centre for Peace and Democracy (CPD) 8 Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC) 9 Gargaar Relief and Development Organization (GREDO) 10 Wajir South Development Association (WASDA) 11 Taakulo Somaliland Community (TASCO) 12 Dan Maxwell, Professor, Feinstein International Centre (Tufts University) 13 Peter Hailey, Centre for Humanitarian Change (CHC)
14 Trocaire 15 Social-life and Agricultural Development Organization (SADO) 16 NAGAAD Women’s Network 17 Forum Syd 18 Norwegian Refugee Council 19 Marja Tiilikainen, Senior Researcher, Migration Institute of Finland 20 Michael Walls, Professor, Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL). 21 Aid Vision 22 Ismaaciil C Ubax, Author/Activist, Codka Ubax 23 African Community Housing and Development(Hamdi Abdulle WA) 24 Abdulkadir Aden Mohamud(Jangeli) Seattle WA 25 Nimo-ilhan Ali, Teaching Fellow, Development Planning Unit, University College London (UCL) 26 Abdishakur Ahmed (Brandeis University) 27 Tirsit Yetbarek, Research Coordinator, Hargeysa Cultural Center Somaliland 28 SAMUEL HALL (http://www.samuelhall.org) 29 Nassim Majidi, Samuel Hall (Tufts University and Wits University) 30 Hervé Nicolle, Samuel Hall 31 Jama Musse Jama, Director, Hargeysa Cultural Centre, Somaliland 32 Redsea Cutural Foundation, Hargeysa, Somaliland 33 Adam Matan OBE, Director of the Anti-Tribalism Movement 34 Anti-Tribalism Movement, London 35 Shobha Das, Freelance humanitarian/ human rights consultant, India 36 Kavita Datta, Professor in Development Geography, Queen Mary University of London. 37 Abdirashid Ismail, Senior Researcher, Migration Institute of Finland 38 Hodan Osman Abdi, Assistant Professor, Institute of Afrcian Studies at Zhejiang Normal University. 39 Siham Rayale, Lecturer, University of Toronto at Scarborough 40 FCA 41 World Concern Development Organization(WCDO) 42 Matt Bryden, Sahan Research 43 Candlelight for Environment, Education and Health (Candlelight) 44 International Aid Services 45 Concern Worldwide 46 Norwegian Church Aid 47 American Refugee Committee (ARC) 48 Philippe Gourdin, Independent Consultant 49 Anna Lindley, Senior Lecturer, SOAS, University of London 50 International Rescue Committee (IRC) 51 Sustainable Development and Peacebuilding Initiatives (SYPD) 52 Somali Lifeline Organization (SOLO) 53 KAALO AID and Development Organization 54 Puntlaand State University Garowe 55 American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) 56 Finnish Somalia Network (FSN)
57 Human Appeal Somalia 58 Oliver Bakewell, Senior Lecturer, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester 59 ZamZam Foundation 60 International Solidarity Foundation (ISF) 61 Jawaahir Daahir, Founder & CEO of Somali Development Services and Chair of Somali Global Diaspora Board 62 Somali Development Services 63 Global Somali Diaspora (GSD) 64 Horn of Africa Voluntary Youth Committee (HAVOYOCO) 65 Puntland Non-State Actors Association (PUNSAA) 66 Asal Consulting 67 New Horizon 68 Cesvi 69 Somaliland National Youth Umbrella (SONYO) 70 Solidarity Youth voluntary organisation ( SOYVO) 71 Somaliland Y-PEER 72 Kayd Somali Arts and Culture 73 Ayan Mahamoud Mahamed MBE, Former Somaliland Representative to the UK 74 Edna Adan Ismail, Edna Adan University Hospital, Hargeisa 75 Edna Adan Foundation, UK Registered Charity 76 Farah Adan, fundraiser, Edna Adan Foundation 77 Ian Fenwick, Trustee, Edna Adan Foundation UK 78 African Foundation for Development (AFFORD UK) 79 Anglo-Somaliland Resources Ltd. 80 ALR Projects Ltd. 81 Twin Group Ltd. 82 Kim Fenwick, volunteer at Edna Aden Maternity Hospital 83 Hollie Puttock, volunteer at Edna Aden Maternity Hospital 84 Rebecca Novis, volunteer at Edna Aden Maternity Hospital 85 World Vision Somalia 86 Agricultural Development Organization -ADO 87 SONSAF (Somaliland Non-State Actors Forum) 88 Rhoda Ibrahim – Director, SAAFI CIC and (EAF) Edna Adan Foundation Trustee 89 Sahra Ahmed Mohamoud,Director, Hido-Dhawr Cultural Center, Somaliland 90 Fouzia Ismail, Director, Somaliland Nursing and Midwifery Association (SLNMA) 91 Somaliland Nursing and Midwifery Association (SLNMA) 92 Social Research and Development Institute (SORADI) 93 Somali American Council Of Oregon (SACOO) 94 Guleid Osman Mohamed CEO Somali Bankers Association 95 Louisa Brain, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) 96 Nauja Kleist, senior researcher, DIIS (Principal Investigator, Somali Diaspora Humanitarianism in Complex Crises)
97 Ahmed M. Musa, Postdoc, Somali Diaspora Humanitarianism in Complex Crises 98 Somaliland Youth Development and Voluntary Organizations (SOYDAVO) 99 Yassmin Mohamed, Projects Manager, Rift Valley Institute 100 Salman Hassan, researcher, LSE Conflict Research Programme (Somalia) 101 Khalif Abdirahman, Senior Researcher, LSE Conflict Research Programme (Somalia) 102 Mark Bradbury, Executive Director, Rift Valley Institute 103 Jethro Norman, Postdoc, Somali Diaspora Humanitarianism in Complex Crises, DIIS. 104 Judith Gardener, Independent Consultant. 105 Guhad Adan, Independent Consultant. 106 Abdirahman Edle Ali, PhD Candidate, Diaspora Humanitarianism in Complex Crises (D-Hum), University of Nairobi & University of Copenhagen. 107 Mohamed Aden Hassan, Director Rako Research and Communication Centre 108 Nancy Balfour, Director, Centre for Humanitarian Change 109 Danish Refugee Council (DRC) 110 DEMAC
For more information, contact:
Amy Croome, Oxfam in Somalia/Somaliland, amy.croome@oxfam.org Scott Paul, Oxfam America, Scott.Paul@Oxfam.org Degan Ali, Adeso, dali@adesoafrica.org Laura Hammond, School or Oriental and African Studies, lh4@soas.ac.uk