Apply for El Niño Anticipatory Action and Nutrition Activities (Somalia)

Deadline: 08-Sep-2026

The World Food Programme (WFP) is inviting applications to support Anticipatory Action for El Niño and nutrition activities under its South Central Area Office in Somalia. The opportunity focuses on timely food and nutrition assistance, early warning and early action, resilience, livelihoods, community engagement, and protection across Bakool, Gedo, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Bay, Hiiraan, and Banaadir.

About the Opportunity

The World Food Programme is seeking partners to implement activities that help vulnerable communities in Somalia prepare for and respond to climate-related and food-security shocks. The programme combines two important areas: El Niño Anticipatory Action, which aims to act before a forecasted shock causes severe impacts. Nutrition activities, which aim to provide timely lifesaving assistance while strengthening nutrition, resilience and self-reliance. The approach emphasizes trigger-informed and impact-focused implementation, meaning actions should be linked to early-warning information and designed to reduce the anticipated effects of a crisis. Geographic Focus Activities will be implemented in areas covered by the WFP South Central Area Office, including: Bakool Gedo Shabeellaha Dhexe Bay Hiiraan Banaadir Key Focus Areas The programme covers a broad range of food-security, nutrition and humanitarian priorities, including: Greater integration of nutrition with health, WASH and protection services. Women and other populations particularly exposed to food insecurity should receive appropriate consideration during programme design and implementation. What Is El Niño Anticipatory Action? Anticipatory Action means taking humanitarian measures before a predicted shock occurs, rather than waiting until the crisis has already caused significant damage. For El Niño-related risks, proposals should demonstrate a clear chain between: Early warning → activation trigger → early action → timely delivery → reduced impact This requires implementing partners to be prepared before an activation occurs. Requirements for Anticipatory Action Clear Activation and Implementation Timeline Proposals should explain exactly when and how activities will be activated.

Plans should include:

Lead time before the expected impact. Activation and decision points. Staff responsibilities. Mobilization timelines. Completion deadlines. Critical dependencies. Contingency arrangements. The timeline should demonstrate that assistance can reach communities early enough to reduce expected impacts. Field Readiness Partners should demonstrate operational readiness before an anticipatory-action trigger is activated. The objective is to prevent administrative or logistical delays after an early-warning trigger occurs. Community Engagement and Local Coordination The programme emphasizes locally grounded implementation. Applicants should demonstrate meaningful engagement with: Communities. District authorities. State authorities. Local stakeholders. Market actors. Vulnerable and underserved groups. Understanding local markets is particularly important for cash-based assistance and other interventions that depend on local availability and purchasing capacity. Communication should be appropriate to the local context and accessible to intended beneficiaries. Protection and Safeguarding Protection considerations must be incorporated throughout implementation.

Proposals should address:

Protection risks. Risk mitigation. Inclusion of underserved groups. Confidentiality. Safeguarding. Prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). Accessible community feedback channels. Safe reporting mechanisms. Appropriate handling of sensitive beneficiary information. Partners should ensure that assistance does not unintentionally increase risks for vulnerable populations. Monitoring, Results and Learning Implementation should use measurable indicators to determine whether anticipatory action and nutrition interventions are delivered effectively.

Monitoring may cover:

Assistance delivered before the anticipated impact. Early-warning coverage. Number and profile of participants reached. Timeliness of assistance. Quality of assistance. Protection incidents. Community feedback. Asset protection. Programme performance. Lessons learned. Evidence generated during implementation should be used to improve future anticipatory-action programming. Integration With Other Humanitarian Programmes WFP expects Anticipatory Action to be connected with complementary programmes rather than operating in isolation.

Potential areas of integration include:

Health. Nutrition. WASH. Protection. Livelihoods. Food security. Cash assistance. Resilience programming. Other crisis-response interventions. Integrated programming can help address multiple vulnerabilities simultaneously and improve the overall effectiveness of humanitarian assistance. How the Programme Should Work Applicants should structure their proposals around a clear operational pathway.

Step 1: Identify the Risk

Use relevant early-warning information and local knowledge to understand El Niño-related risks and their potential effects on communities.

Step 2: Define Trigger and Activation Arrangements

Clearly explain what information or conditions will trigger early action and who will make activation decisions.

Step 3: Prepare Before Activation

Ensure staff, beneficiary information, access arrangements, community networks and contingency measures are ready before a trigger occurs.

Step 4: Deliver Early Assistance

Implement food, cash, nutrition or other approved interventions within the required lead time.

Step 5: Prioritize Vulnerable Groups

Ensure women, underserved communities and other vulnerable populations can access assistance safely and equitably.

Step 6: Coordinate Locally

Work with district and state authorities, communities, market actors and other humanitarian partners to avoid duplication and improve coverage.

Step 7: Monitor Results

Track timeliness, reach, quality, p