Executive summary
People throughout Somalia view their circumstances as increasingly uncertain, with problems becoming more difficult to resolve. They seek assistance that enables them to build better futures, rather than simply addressing immediate needs.
Based on a survey of 7,460 individuals across 11 districts in Somalia, this report demonstrates that communities desire support to address today’s most pressing needs and to create futures less reliant on aid, less vulnerable to climate shocks, and more economically stable. Instead, many are trapped in a cycle of unstable livelihoods, diminishing social support, growing inequality, and intensifying climate risks. People have clear definitions of resilience and why it seems increasingly unattainable.
This research employs a participatory co-design approach where community members identified key priorities to guide the research design. Those interviewed emphasize their focus on establishing more resilient and independent futures. They define resilience as the capacity to endure an income shock without losing assets, resources, or livelihoods completelyessentially, minimizing losses during a shock while allowing households to preserve as much of their original wellbeing as possible when recovering from it. Using this definition, the report introduces a perception-based resilience index covering five dimensions identified as crucial drivers of resilience: access to assets and livelihoods, social capital, climate coping capacity, and access to services and security. Respondents assert that without sustainable livelihoods, access to basic services, and resources to adapt to climate change, resilience remains unachievable. Internally displaced persons, women, rural residents, and marginalized groups consistently perform worst across all resilience dimensions.
Key findings:
1. Communities desire support that balances immediate needs with long-term aspirations People need sustainable assistance that helps them survive today and escape vulnerability tomorrow. This requires combining life-saving aid with support that produces lasting improvements to basic services, economies and infrastructure. Food insecurity and hunger remain serious issues, but lack of livelihood opportunities is the greatest challenge reported. Despite receiving the bulk of humanitarian assistance, internally displaced persons are the least satisfied with aid, with 68% expressing negative views about its effectiveness.
2. People emphasize secure livelihoods and financial resources Livelihoods form the core of how people conceptualize resilience. 53% of those interviewed cite lack of livelihood opportunities as the primary challenge in their communities, and nearly half feel pessimistic about future prospects for their livelihoods. Many are already adapting their livelihoods to changing climatic conditions. Over 85% of farmers and pastoralists report considering modifications to their farming or livestock practices to maintain production during difficult times, but insufficient financial resources present the most significant barrier. Casual laborersdisproportionately including internally displaced persons, women, and marginalized groupsface unstable, overcrowded, and poorly compensated work with the most uncertain futures.
3. Community cooperation and social safety nets face strain Social capital was identified by interviewees as a key resilience factor, yet 71% state they have no one to turn to for financial help during crises. 54% believe communities seldom cooperate to address shared problems, primarily due to resource constraints.
4. Climate impacts are widespread and coping capacity is limited Worsening climate intensify existing vulnerabilities, creating mounting challenges. While cities also experience these effects, internally displaced persons and rural residents feel least equipped to handle future shocks. Half of rural respondents report their communities do not cope well with climate hazards (50%) and lack confidence in their households’ ability to withstand such hazards without deeper impoverishment (47%). Similarly, 56% of internally displaced persons doubted their communities’ capacity to cope, and 49% felt the same about their own households. People consistently advocate for enhanced water infrastructure, flood protection, and safer shelters adapted to local risk profiles.
5. Access to basic services and security are foundations for better futures Basic services and security underpin resilience. Access to electricity, healthcare, water, and education present the most significant obstacles, especially for internally displaced persons and rural communities. Nevertheless, 74% of respondents report feeling secure in daily life, and 57% indicate communities collaborate to enhance security.