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This study highlights the effectiveness of early interventions over reactive disaster relief.

In late 2022, the Famine Review Committee identified a risk of famine for several population groups in the Bay region of Somalia. The African Risk Capacity (ARC) Replica funds were consequently released in March 2023 when pre-agreed thresholds indicated rainfall deficits, drought, and worsening food insecurity. In total, 3.38 million USD was released from ARC Replica, and was supplemented with 891,800 USD from Start Ready.

The current international humanitarian system, dominated by large international organisations, is being stretched to its limit. Dealing with growing frequency, unpredictability and complexity of emergencies, it appears increasingly unfit to deal with these challenges, let alone address future ones. One opportunity to address these is getting the balance right between international and local response.