As the Somalia diaspora in other countries lose their jobs because of the virus, remittance flows to Somalia are decreasing sharply and many Somalis may find it extremely difficult to make ends meet. In Somalia, the funding would mean we can maintain the provision of critical assistance where needs were already high, while meeting new needs as they emerge.Our mobile payment procedures, for example, have had to swiftly adapt to the new operating environment, both to accommodate movement restrictions and contribute to the effort to prevent the spread of the virus. Mobile Money is a platform we developed over the last two years, with support from USAID. It allows money to be delivered by mobile phone to beneficiaries once they are registered and verified. In total there are over 350,000 households, comprising more than 2.1 million people, registered in FAO’s Mobile Money platform in Somalia, which means we can quickly scale up to reach those in need as the current crisis develops.The vouchers are for local quality seeds, farm tools, irrigation services and storage bags among other cropping essentials, redeemed from a network of local, approved traders.
Read more at: https://www.africanews.com/2020/05/28/coronavirus-somalia-using-innovation-to-deliver-in-somalia-despite-covid-19/