My day starts with some exercise, breakfast in my room, then an 8am planning session. The schedule typically includes meetings in town with politicians, receiving Somali or international visitors, and seeing colleagues working on issues such as elections, security sector reform, rule of law, child protection, gender, human rights, food security, displacement and reconciliation.
There are around 500 international UN staff in Somalia, the majority in Mogadishu. Many more are based in Kenya. The Somali authorities would like the diplomatic and aid communities to shift entirely to Somalia, but security concerns, logistical practicalities and the cost of maintaining staff are deterrents.
