Drought Takaful insurance delivers US$3.43 million to 17,373 Somali pastoralists
The latest HoA DRIVE payout follows poor rains during April–June 2026, bringing financial protection directly to pastoral families through mobile wallets.
A total of 17,373 Somali pastoralists have received US$3.43 million in drought Takaful insurance payments under the World Bank-financed HoA DRIVE project. The payout follows poor and uneven rainfall during April–June 2026, which affected the pasture their livestock depend on.
Payments went directly to pastoralists’ mobile wallets after satellite monitoring confirmed that vegetation conditions had reached agreed payout thresholds in covered areas of Hiiraan, Galguduud, Lower Shabelle, Bay and Middle Shabelle.
For families whose income and savings are tied to livestock, drought can put years of work at risk. Insurance provides a financial buffer, giving them more options to manage a difficult season and protect their livelihoods.
Shukri Ahmed Mohamed, a pastoralist in Abudwak, Galguduud, was among those who received a payment. Her family relies on livestock.
“With the payout money we received, we bought water and feed for the livestock,” she said.
Somalia’s Index-Based Livestock Takaful program combines a Sharia-compliant model of shared risk with satellite monitoring and digital payments. Pastoralists purchase coverage before the season.
When vegetation conditions in an insured area reach the threshold specified in the policy, eligible policyholders qualify automatically.
They do not need to file individual claims or wait for livestock deaths to be documented. The protection is designed to help families sustain their herds through drought, with payments determined by measured pasture conditions.
The latest payout covered pastoralists who enrolled in October 2025 and April 2026. ZEP-RE led delivery through participating financial institutions, supporting Somalia’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Livestock, Forestry and Range. ACRE Africa calculates payouts using satellite data, which ZEP-RE reviews before payments are processed.
The payment builds on an earlier round in March 2026, when US$3.88 million reached about 17,734 pastoralists following poor pasture conditions during the October–December 2025 Short Rains season.
Together, the two rounds demonstrate how insurance coverage can respond to successive difficult seasons.
“We’re expanding access to this coverage, so we can protect livelihoods, stabilize rural incomes, and strengthen confidence in our livestock sector,” said Suleiman Sheikh Umar, Director General of the Ministry of Finance.
Financial protection is one part of DRIVE’s wider work in Somalia. The project brings together insurance, savings and digital accounts with support for stronger livestock markets, better standards and greater private investment. The aim is to help pastoralists withstand shocks while creating more opportunities to earn from their livestock.
“Pastoral communities have often had little access to formal insurance. Somalia shows how Sharia-compliant protection, designed for local realities and delivered digitally, can reach them,” said Sonia Plaza, Senior Economist at the World Bank.
The latest payout puts that protection into practice: coverage purchased before the season, conditions measured independently and money delivered directly to insured pastoralists when the agreed thresholds are reached.
