Mogadishu, Somalia – Mogadishu is in its final stretch of preparations for the second annual Somalia Disaster Resilience Conference, scheduled to take place from October 22 to 23. Co-organized by the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA) and Mogadishu University, the event aims to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to recurring humanitarian crises brought on by floods, droughts, conflict, and climate change.
This year’s conference is expected to draw government officials, international humanitarian partners, civil society leaders, and researchers from across the country and the Horn of Africa. According to organizers, discussions will focus on long-term resilience strategies—moving beyond emergency aid toward building sustainable systems that protect vulnerable communities before disaster strikes.
For SoDMA, the conference is more than an annual gathering; it is part of Somalia’s broader effort to institutionalize disaster preparedness after decades of reactive crisis management. The agency has spent months coordinating with universities, aid agencies, and federal member states to ensure the event produces practical commitments rather than just dialogue.
Mogadishu University, now hosting the conference for the second time, says its role is to bridge academia and policy. Researchers will present new studies on risk reduction, community-based early warning systems, and local adaptation innovations that have emerged from Somalia’s pastoral and riverine regions.
Organizers say the timing of the conference could not be more critical. The latest climate forecasts predict more erratic rainfall in the coming months, raising the risk of renewed flooding in southern regions. Many communities are still recovering from one of the worst droughts in recent history, followed almost immediately by destructive floods—an emerging pattern that has tested the limits of humanitarian response.
By convening national and international actors under one roof, SoDMA hopes the conference will accelerate coordination and unlock new partnerships. More importantly, it seeks to shift the national mindset from crisis survival to resilience building.
As October 22 approaches, the message from organizers is clear: Somalia cannot afford to wait for the next disaster to act. This year’s conference aims to ensure that when the next shock comes, the country is not merely reacting—it is ready.