Community engagement must go beyond being treated as a project and instead be embraced as a mindset to ensure more effective humanitarian responses. This was one of the major lessons highlighted during a workshop held in Mogadishu from 2–4 February 2026, where humanitarian partners reflected on community-led approaches in Somalia.
Between October and November 2025, community engagement partners—including the African Somali Empowerment Program (ASEP), the Horn of Africa Relief and Development Organization (HARD), and the Union of Relief and Reconstruction Organizations (URRO)—worked alongside district Area-Based Coordination bodies (ABCs) to organize extensive community consultation sessions. These consultations took place in Baidoa, Afmadow, Jamaame, and Jowhar with the goal of identifying local priorities and needs. The insights gathered were intended to guide the implementation of projects supported by the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF).
To assess the progress and impact of these consultations, representatives from the community engagement partners met in Mogadishu together with ABC facilitators and representatives from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Somalia Humanitarian Fund. The workshop, designed and facilitated by ASEP, Ground Truth Solutions, and the Centre for Humanitarian Change, focused on reviewing lessons learned, exploring opportunities to replicate successful approaches, and discussing ways to strengthen a more accountable and community-driven humanitarian response.
Participants analyzed community feedback collected during the consultations to better understand local perspectives and priorities. They also examined the engagement process to identify effective practices that could be expanded and replicated in other areas. In addition, discussions explored how Area-Based Coordination bodies could play a stronger role in enabling more bottom-up decision-making within the humanitarian system.
One of the key insights from the workshop was that communities across Somalia already have complex systems and strategies for coping with crises and shaping their futures. Diaspora networks, faith leaders, and strong community solidarity often mobilize support for urgent needs, demonstrating that humanitarian assistance should build on these existing structures rather than undermine them. Participants emphasized that community engagement should be viewed as a fundamental approach to humanitarian work, ensuring that responses are built around community capacities and priorities.
The discussions also highlighted how the UN-led humanitarian system can learn from community-driven responses, particularly in areas such as flexibility, fundraising, and negotiating access in challenging contexts. Community networks are often well established and capable of responding quickly, offering valuable lessons for international humanitarian actors.
However, participants also pointed to several challenges within the current humanitarian coordination system. Overlapping coordination mechanisms and rigid operational requirements can slow down responses and make it difficult to adapt to changing community priorities. These structural barriers can limit the ability of humanitarian organizations to respond quickly and effectively to local needs.
At the same time, there is growing interest in the potential of Area-Based Coordination bodies to support more locally led responses. Despite this enthusiasm, participants noted that there is still limited clarity regarding the roles, responsibilities, and accountability of ABCs, particularly in relation to other stakeholders such as clusters, OCHA, and local authorities.
Many participants stressed that ABCs need stronger authority and support to fulfill their potential. Expectations for these bodies are high, yet they often lack the decision-making power, financial resources, and capacity support necessary to drive meaningful change. Strengthening these areas could enable ABCs to play a more influential role in shaping humanitarian responses that truly reflect community priorities.
Ultimately, participants concluded that the role of ABCs should extend beyond coordination alone. These bodies act as conveners, collaborators, and negotiators who help connect different actors working in humanitarian response. To remain effective, they should avoid becoming another bureaucratic layer within the system and instead focus on facilitating practical collaboration and community-driven action.
