Mogadishu — Somalia has moved beyond the stage of debate and planning on disaster management and is now building formal systems capable of responding effectively to emergencies, the head of the country's disaster management agency said.

Mahmoud Moallim Abdulle, commissioner of the National Disaster Management Authority, said Somalia frequently faces droughts, conflict and the growing impacts of climate change, warning that delays in disaster response can lead to serious humanitarian losses.

He said the country's newly adopted National Disaster Management Policy recognizes the Shock Responsive Safety Net Programme (SRSP) as a key pillar of the national response system.

Abdulle also thanked Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) for supporting the development of the system.

He called on international partners to channel future assistance through Somalia's National Disaster Risk Management Fund, saying the mechanism would strengthen national capacity and improve responses to humanitarian crises across the country.