A safer Somalia means more women on the force, in the judiciary and even in the dock As a woman victim of crime in Somalia, you face an uphill battle to get justice. First you have to get someone to listen to you. Then you have to get a fair…

The Home of Somali Poetry initiative’s 2021 Woman Poet of the Year uses poetry to empower and inspire change Raxma Xuseen Huriye fell in love with poetry at a young age. …

UNDP-supported exhibition of women’s poetry, photography and filmmaking opens in Mogadishu on International Women’s Day “Women see life differently to men, so it’s important they tell their own stories,” says Zaima Abdi Ali, camera in hand, a smile on her face. A veterinary student in her final year, Zaima swapped…

UNDP’s Home of Somali Poetry initiative gives a new platform to women writers and celebrates their work in an annual award There have always been Somali women poets writing and performing in different styles, expressing their views on everything from political representation to war, revolution and inequality. But they haven’t…

Developing country voices at COP will help call for limiting global warming to “well below” 2 degrees and providing US$100 billion per year for poorer nations to deal with climate change This year’s UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP 26, is a pivotal moment in the world’s efforts to…

Funding from the Government of Japan provides US$10,000 grants and training to 5 small businesses run by internally displaced people, many of whom have been forced to move by climate change For Farduus, life was hard enough even before COVID-19 arrived in Somalia in March 2020. Years before, she had…

Funding from the Government of Japan allowed UNDP to deliver PPE and other supplies to prisons and to advocate for the release of low-risk prisoners When COVID struck Somalia in March 2020, some of the most vulnerable people were literally unable to avoid it: the country’s prisoner population. “The worst…

The Home of Somali Poetry aims to find out — and promote Somali culture in the process Spend more than a day or so in Somalia and someone will mention poetry — whether it’s song cycles exchanged between different clans over hundreds of years, anti-colonial verse of the 20th century…

Dams built by UNDP and the GEF provide water to camel herders and local communities when it’s needed most Across Somalia, climate change is altering the seasons, worsening natural disasters and extreme weather events. In 2017, after the rains failed for three seasons in a row, a severe drought…