
Horn of Africa: two SDC humanitarian workers tell us about their work
Article, 19.08.2016
The international community celebrates World Humanitarian Day on 19 August. To mark the occasion, the SDC pays tribute to its own humanitarian workers. Natacha Pugin and Abdi Kunow work day in day out providing food assistance in the Horn of Africa.

Several hundred experts make up the SDC's Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA). Whether in Bern or abroad, as members of the SHA on assignment in the field or in reserve, these men and women work in a wide range of areas, in all countries around the world that need their help.
The Horn of Africa, for example, faces a multitude of crises, including natural disasters, conflict and extreme poverty. Somalia is the epicentre of the region’s humanitarian crisis, with the highest rates of malnutrition in the world. The UN estimates that 4.7 million people require humanitarian aid in Somalia alone, equivalent to 40% of the population.
So who are the men and women who choose to work in these challenging environments? How do they do their job and what does it entail? What motivates them? We take a closer look at the work of two SDC experts in the Greater Horn of Africa.

Natacha Pugin
Position: Member of the SHA, seconded to the World Food Programme (WFP) in Somalia
Place of work: Nairobi, Kenya, with occasional travel to Somalia
Length of assignment: 12 months
Her job
Natacha is responsible for providing technical support in the implementation of cash-based transfer programmes. She is part of the WFP's Programme Unit in Somalia.
The beneficiaries
The WFP provides food assistance to millions of men, women and children using a digital beneficiary and transfer management platform called SCOPE. To date, the details of over 1.2 million people in Somalia have been entered in SCOPE. In the first half of 2016, 440,000 Somalis in acute need received food assistance by means of electronic cards.
A typical day
Natacha works in Kenya at the Nairobi liaison office. Her assignment began four months ago. New technologies allow her to do a substantial amount of work remotely whilst remaining in close contact with teams on the ground. Natacha liaises between the WFP’s various functional and operational units. She takes part in regular analyses of cash-based transfers to ensure that they are in line with market prices and also helps to foster ownership of the system among all national colleagues and partners involved with the WFP.
The benefits of digital technology
Thanks to the transfer system, programme beneficiaries can choose and buy their food from retailers nationwide. Data digitalisation means that nutrition programmes can be tailored to the needs of the worst affected population groups, such as pregnant women, babies and children. It also makes it easy to monitor the programme. According to the project officer, the technology enables an appropriate, reliable and flexible humanitarian response whilst boosting the local economy.
The challenges
Humanitarian travel is closely monitored in Somalia. The situation on the ground is difficult and unpredictable. Owing to the highly unstable climate in the country, Natacha’s first field assignment in August had to be postponed for security reasons. In her view, the main challenge with working in such contexts is finding the right balance between the needs of the population, risk management and the complexity of the environment in which the teams operate. It is a situation that requires humility and pragmatism. For Natacha, the discrepancy between the immense needs of the population and the resources available to humanitarian organisations is sometimes difficult to accept.
What motivates her
Natacha feels privileged to work in humanitarian aid, doing a job that is consistent with her values. Her assignment as a WFP programme officer represents a constant challenge: developing sustainable local solutions to ensure that everyone has access to adequate nutritious food all year round and to end malnutrition in all its forms by making the best possible use of 21st century technologies. “Working with teams who do an incredible job only strengthens my commitment even more,” she explains.
Her background
After graduating in economics and social sciences from the University of Fribourg, Natacha spent several years working in the financial sector in Zurich and New York. She was then taken on by the International Committee of the Red Cross as an administrative coordinator, where she worked in various countries (Ethiopia, South Sudan, Burundi, South East Asia and Central Asia). At the FDFA’s Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit she is a member of the Coordination and Administration expert group and has undertaken a range of assignments in Bern, then Liberia, Lebanon, Madagascar and now Somalia.

Kunow Abdi
Position: Food security programme officer, Horn of Africa, Swiss cooperation office in Kenya
Place of work: Nairobi, Kenya – Frequent travel to Horn of Africa (Northern Kenya, Somalia)
His job
Kunow works for the SDC in the Horn of Africa in food security and rural development domain. His priorities are water supply for pastoral communities and livestock, improved rangelands management and boosting the resilience of people enduring food crises.
The beneficiaries
Kunow is currently involved in two projects providing assistance for communities in Somalia and northern Kenya. The Somalia Resilience Programme supports 420,000 shepherds, farmers and people living in city suburbs. The resilience of the community plays a vital role in food crisis management in this programme. In the provinces of northern Kenya, the Kenya Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development (Kenya RAPID) supports water supply in several regions benefiting 435,000 people.
A typical day
The programme officer is based at the Swiss embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. As the SDC is one of the project partners and not the direct implementer, Kunow mainly works remotely in close cooperation with the SDC local teams. He visits the operations in the field several times a year, meeting the various partners and monitoring and evaluating the programmes.
The challenges
Visiting some areas is still dangerous, even for people from the Horn of Africa. Aid operations are protected by armed escorts in most parts of Somalia, particularly in southern and central regions. Kunow stresses just how much rigorous prior planning is involved. He lives in the relatively secure Kenyan capital. Restrictions on the freedom of movement and the sense of insecurity sometimes encountered when working in this region also represent challenges.
What motivates him
Kunow has vast experience of working in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. “I’m very familiar with this fragile and sensitive environment. These are my roots. I’m very much at home in this part of the world,” he explained. “It’s extremely rewarding to apply your skills, expertise and experience to an initiative that has a direct impact on the lives of thousands of people.” Kunow speaks the local languages facilitating interaction with the communities. He also has a better understanding than anyone of these people’s needs. Somalia is more severely affected by the chronic food crisis hitting the Horn of Africa. After almost three decades of war, conflict and lack of operational government, Kunow believes the resilience of Somalian communities in dealing with drought, famine and poor harvests has been eroded. He added: “There is tremendous humanitarian need. The SDC gives me the opportunity to play a part in the assistance process.”
His background
Kunow comes from the County of Garissa in north-eastern Kenya. After studying veterinary medicine at the University of Nairobi, he spent several years working as a programme manager for various international NGOs in Kenya and Somalia. He then took a master’s degree in food security and international development in the UK. He subsequently returned to the Horn of Africa, to work as a food security specialist for the SDC over a year ago.
Links
Swiss Humanitarian Aid: saving lives and alleviating suffering
The SDC: engagement in fragile contexts and prevention of violent conflicts
Somalia Resilience Programme, SomReP
Resilience for Pastoralist Communities in Northern Kenya
Cash transfer programming – Make beneficiaries an integral part of the humanitarian response
SDC projects in the Greater Horn of Africa
Sustainable water and pasture management to alleviate the plight of Ethiopian pastoralists

01.06.2015
- 31.12.2021
Drought, fodder scarcity and conflicts over natural resources make life difficult for pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. The SDC has taken various measures to improve their food security and their resilience to crisis situations, ranging from the rehabilitation of pastureland and water points to the introduction of land use plans and the diversification of income sources for women.
Country/region | Topic | Period | Budget |
---|---|---|---|
Ethiopia |
Agriculture & food security Conflict & fragility Climate change and environment
Agricultural land resources
Household food security
Conflict prevention
Disaster risk reduction DRR
|
01.06.2015 - 31.12.2021 |
CHF 8'653'920 |
Healthy people and animals in Ethiopia thanks to an interdisciplinary project: Jigjiga University One Health Initiative

01.01.2015
- 31.03.2021
Nomadic pastoralist communities, which constitute one tenth of Ethiopia’s population, have little access to health services. In the Jigjiga University One Health Initiative, the SDC is helping to establish local healthcare services by supporting an interdisciplinary centre of excellence at Jigjiga University in eastern Ethiopia.
Country/region | Topic | Period | Budget |
---|---|---|---|
Ethiopia |
Health
Health systems strengthening
Primary health care
|
01.01.2015 - 31.03.2021 |
CHF 2'200'000 |
Youth-Inclusive Rural Finance (YIRF)
01.09.2025
- 31.08.2028
Millions of Tanzanian young people living in rural areas, in particular young women, are affected by vulnerable employment. Building on successful Swiss experience in youth employment, this initiative aims at increasing gainful self-employment through enhanced financial inclusion. It will support the design, market entrance and upscaling of innovative digital financial products and services tailored to rural youth, including female youth. In order to ensure scale and sustainability, a partnership with the private sector will be developed.
Anti-Corruption Support Programme (ACS)
01.01.2025
- 31.12.2027
The programme will build technical capacity in the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau to more effectively investigate complex financial corruption cases and increase asset recovery. This will reduce impunity, return financial resources and have a preventive effect. The programme will also promote collective action between state and non-state actors to build a social climate that is adverse to corrupt practices.
Horn of Africa: IFC - Private sector solutions for regufees and host communities
01.01.2025
- 09.07.2031
The Horn of Africa is fraught by political and economic fragilities and conflicts, leading to protracted displacement situations. They involve confinement in camps with few opportunities to establish sustainable livelihoods. Switzerland contributes to durable solutions for displacement-affected communities by promoting private sector development, leading to greater economic and employment opportunities and socio-economic integration in the region, which is in the Swiss interest.
Horn of Africa: One Health Units for Humans, Environment, Animals and Livelihoods
01.09.2024
- 30.06.2032
The project aims at improving the well-being of targeted pastoral communities challenged with inadequate access to basic health/veterinary services and environmental conditions in Somalia, Ethiopia and Northern Kenya through integrated health service delivery for both pastoralists and their livestock. The project will contribute to stability and vulnerability’s reduction of citizens in the region, thereby reducing their displacement/migration which is in the interest of Switzerland and the international community.
Planned project
Towards Elimination of Malaria in the United Republic of Tanzania (TEMT)
01.04.2024
- 31.03.2032
Tanzania made massive progress in malaria control through innovative approaches over the past decade. To sustain and expand these results, the program will capacitate Tanzanian institutions to engage in subnational, intersectoral and cross borders malaria elimination strategies in the region whilst continuously informing the global malaria policies and technical guidelines with practices from Tanzania. Switzerland is a recognised global expert in malaria, providing a strong rational for a renewed Swiss commitment towards “a malaria free world” by 2030.
Planned project
Domestic accountability and local revenue mobilisation
01.08.2023
- 31.07.2026
The project will support national and local government actors to increase local revenue generation alongside improving their capacities to exercise internal and external control functions. Equally importantly, dialogue and exchange between the local population and local authorities will also be fostered in order to make the collection and use of public funds more transparent, local authorities’ behaviour more accountable and thus improve service delivery.
Planned project
Skills for Employment Tanzania – SET
01.07.2022
- 31.12.2029
This multi-layered program aims at enhancing prospects of gainful youth (self-) employment through a contribution to improved access to agricultural skills, and cross sectorial support to relevance and quality of Vocational Skills Development (VSD) by fostering existing institutions. Focus is placed on the coordination of skills providers and market players and on innovative solutions. The aim is to generate wide impact in order to significantly address the needs in VSD, particularly those of women.
Planned project
Strengthening Drought Resilience of the Pastoral and Agro-pastoral Populations in the Lowlands of Ethiopia (Somali Region)
01.05.2022
- 31.12.2026
Through capacitating local natural resources management institutions, the Strengthening Drought Resilience project aims at ensuring resilient and sustainable livelihoods and food security of drought affected pastoralist and agro pastoralist communities in the Somali region of Ethiopia. The project is managed by GIZ through delegated aid cooperation and implemented through government/public institutions, local civil society and non-governmental organizations.
Sustainable Natural Resources Management (NRM) for Enhanced Pastoralist Food Security in the Borana Zone, Ethiopia.
01.01.2022
- 31.12.2027
Natural resources, particularly water and pasture, are among the key determinants of pastoralist livelihoods’ sustainability. The proposed Project contributes to the outcomes of the SDC’s Food Security Domain as stipulated in the Swiss Cooperation Strategy Horn of Africa. It aims at improving pastoralist food security and adaptive capacities in the lowlands of Borana Zone, Southern Ethiopia, through enhancing the sustainable management of natural resources.
Building Regional and National capacities for improved Migration Governance in the IGAD Region
01.01.2022
- 31.08.2027
The Horn of Africa is of high interest for Switzerland in terms of migration policy. Swiss support to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and its Member States will contribute to improve their migration governance capacities so as to enable the organisation to effectively implement regional, continental and global regulatory standards for the protection of refugees and vulnerable migrants in the region.