Somalia is fresh from signing a data-sharing agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to tackle issues such as social protection and poverty reduction among others.
This week, Somalia’s Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Yusuf Mohamed Adan, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Country Representative, Etienne Peterschmitt, signed the agreement that marks a significant step toward enhancing social protection, poverty reduction, and support for vulnerable populations in Somalia.
This collaboration aims to facilitate the exchange of critical data, enabling more effective program design and implementation to improve the livelihoods of those most in need.
This initiative aligns with previous efforts by FAO to strengthen data-driven humanitarian assistance in Somalia.
For instance, in February 2025, FAO and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) signed a data-sharing agreement to enhance data-driven targeting in humanitarian assistance while upholding stringent data protection standards.
This agreement sought to enable more effective program design, de-duplication, and referral pathways, thereby ensuring that assistance reaches the intended beneficiaries efficiently.
Similarly, in September 2023, FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) entered into a data-sharing agreement to improve humanitarian assistance in Somalia.
This collaboration was designed to strengthen strategic and operational coordination, allowing both agencies to deliver assistance more effectively and transparently to vulnerable populations.
These agreements underscore a broader commitment to leveraging data-sharing partnerships to enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian and social protection programs in Somalia.
By fostering collaboration between governmental bodies and international organizations, such initiatives aim to create a more coordinated and efficient approach to addressing the challenges faced by the most vulnerable communities, ultimately paving the way for a better life for all.