A Brief Comparison of the 2011 and 2017 Drought Displacement in Somalia

The drought situation in Somalia was reminiscent of the conditions preceding the 2010 –2011 famine crisis. In that period lack of rainfall, failed harvests, political conflict and poor accountability of the government to the population all led to severe food insecurity. It is estimated that the deaths of between 242,300 and 272,690 people were directly attributable to the resulting famine in 2011 (Checchi and Robinson 2013). As a result the humanitarian community acted with speed in 2016 to prevent a repeat event of this scale.
There was little substantive data to assess trends in crude mortality in Somalia throughout 2017. However, sources suggest that mortality did not increase at the same rate as in 2011. In contrast, the 2016 figures indicated that a greater number and percentage of the population were displaced by the than in 2011. If the severity of crises were to be measured by total displacement, the 2016 crisis would appear more severe.
CHC came up with discussion points that we believe are notable for practitioners and policy makers that are seeking to learn from the nature of this 2016 crisis and response.