By Zakaria Soohoyde - Reporter
MOGADISHU, 3 October 2026 Somalia’s disaster management agency has not attempted to hold direct talks with Al-Shabaab to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid, its chairman Mahamuud Moallim Abdulle said.
“No,” Abdulle said when asked by Dawan Media’s Miizaan podcast whether the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SODMA) had sought to engage Al-Shabaab over access for food, water and other life-saving assistance.
He said SODMA is a government institution focused on humanitarian and social affairs rather than political matters, adding that Al-Shabaab’s activities affect humanitarian efforts beyond political issues, according to his assessment.
Abdulle said the agency is using every available means to reach people wherever access is possible, particularly those displaced from homes, farmland and livestock, using available transport and other means.
Related articles
Many people displaced by the 2023 floods remain in internally displaced persons camps, including people who have yet to return to areas where humanitarian organizations face access challenges, he said.
Security conditions continue to affect the agency’s ability to deliver aid, though access has improved in some areas previously difficult or impossible to reach, he said.
“Many places that could not be reached in the past can now be reached,” Abdulle said, attributing improved access to government and security operations.
He said the agency continues to coordinate assistance and preparedness with government institutions and national and international partners, recently holding discussions with humanitarian organizations on strengthening joint responses to flooding, El Niño and other emergencies, and will continue efforts to reach people affected by displacement and natural disasters wherever conditions allow.