Save the Children Evaluation of Humanitarian Action: Somalia Crisis Response April 2011-April 2012

Programming to support children in Somalia is challenged by insecurity and remoteness, resulting in limited and changeable access, a high level of diverse and pre-existing vulnerabilities, low levels of service infrastructure, and cycles of natural disasters. Indicators that have been linked to food security and child survival began to decline in 2010, at which stage many actors, including Save the Children, began fundraising for and implementation of preventative programming; for several reasons, this initial push garnered less support than required. Save the Children declared the entire Horn of Africa region an emergency on 4th of July 2011, and as a significant media profile was raised, members and donors released funding to allow a scaled humanitarian response. Between July 2011 and October 2011, the response grew from £3 to 30 million, covering all seven Save the Children sectors (namely: Nutrition, Health, WASH, Shelter, Food Security and Livelihoods, Education in Emergencies, and Child Protection in Emergencies). This Evaluation of Humanitarian Action has focused on assessing the following three key elements of Save the Children's humanitarian response in Somalia covering the period April 2011 - April 2012. a. The extent to which the projects of emergency response met or are on-track to meet their objectives. b. The extent to which the response has been and continues to be accountable to the affected population (specifically looking at children and their care-givers). c. Recommending improvements for longer-term strategies as well as changes to make in real-time, focusing on programme and management quality and accountability, and contributing to learning in a wider sense within the agency.