The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government, responsible for external development, has pledged a financial contribution of $9 million to Somalia for the ADRiFi project of the African Development Bank, implemented by the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA).

The commitment was announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office during the international conference on climate change, COP28, held in the United Arab Emirates.

This financial support aims to assist in the management of humanitarian disasters in the country, particularly addressing the first drought in five years.

The commissioner of SoDMA, Mohamud Moalim Abdulle, expressed gratitude to the FCDO representative, the government, and the people of the UK for their unwavering support for the Somali people.

This announcement came two after Chinese Embassy handed over one million dollars in humanitarian aid to the agency to help victims of the recent floods in the country.

Over 100 people were killed and more than 1.7 million others displaced in the heavy rains and riverine floods in the south and central Somalia according to Government and UN agencies.