Somaliland

Somaliland is facing extreme climate risk and confronts challenges such as periods of extended drought, flash floods, erratic rainfall, disruption to the monsoon seasons, cyclones, sandstorms, and dust storms. The women of Somaliland are unduly impacted by these events and their associated externalities. Droughts, especially recent droughts, displace women from their communities, pushing them into internally displaced persons camps in urban areas which tend to be overcrowded, have high disease risk, and are low on resources. Women in these camps are also more likely to face gender-based violence and more likely to be forced into sex work. Water scarcity places a further burden on women as they may have to travel great distances on foot to gather water for the household. Climate change also increases the rates of malnutrition, impacting pregnant and breastfeeding mothers due to food scarcity caused by a loss of livestock. In addition, the impacts of climate change often cause the deterioration of small women-owned businesses as they deplete their cash reserves, if they have any, to pay for necessities in times of crisis. This makes it more difficult for them to achieve financial stability or independence and causing them to be reliant on others, increasing their vulnerability. Women in Somaliland are at extreme risk and are the first to be displaced and affected as they do not have the resources to respond adequately to the crisis.