Socio demographic determinants and community engagement in livelihood coping mechanisms during drought: a case study of Daynile district, Somalia.

Introduction:Globally livelihoods and survival of humanity is significantly affected by natural disasters such as drought. It is projected that the nature and severity of drought is going to be on an increasing trajectory due to climate change. As a result, households adopt either negative or positive coping mechanisms as a response to the disaster. Thus this study aimed to assess factors influencing the adoption of livelihood coping mechanisms for drought risk reduction among local communities in Daynile district, Somalia.

Methods:The study employed a descriptive cross sectional study design to assess the influence of community engagement and socio demographic factors on adoption of livelihood coping mechanisms. Stratified random sampling was used to identify a sample size of 250 respondents in Daynile district. The sample size was proportionately distributed in all the sub districts i.e. Darasalam, Isse Abdi, Barwaaqo, Odwayne, Kurdamac and Halgan. Data was collected using ODKcollect and analyzed using SPSS version 25. All ethical considerations were adhered to during the study.

Results:The study revealed that a majority (73.9) of the respondents adopted positive livelihood coping mechanisms. Community engagement had a significant association with the livelihood coping mechanisms whereby a majority of respondnets who had positive livelihood coping mechanisms were actively engaged by DRR programs (χ2= 68.809, p<0.001). Gender and level of education had a significant association with livelihood coping mechanisms whereby a majority of respondents who had positive livelihood coping mechanisms were females (80.3%) and respondents with no formal education (66.3%) respectively. Additionally monthly income has an influence on livelihood coping mechanism whereby respondents who adopted positive livelihood coping mechanisms had a higher monthly income (74.83USD) as compared to those who had negative livelihood coping mechanisms (64.05 USD).

Conclusion:The study findings suggest the need for integrated, community-driven initiatives, in combination with targeted socio-economic support to enhance drought resilience in the Daynile District.