[2] The organisation is noted for its use of cash-based programming to support communities in Somalia and Kenya and for its executive director's advocacy efforts around advancing localisation.

Its programs in Somalia, Kenya, and South Sudan also include women's literacy, agricultural support, and community environmental education.

[7] In 2002, in response to Jibrell's advocacy work, the Puntland Government banned the export of charcoal in the region.

The following year, Jibrell won the National Geographic's Buffett Award for Leadership in African Conservation,[11] and the organisation published a cash transfer implementation manual.

[15] Adeso was one of the 286 organisations chosen by MacKenzie Scott in 2021 to receive part of her US$2.7 billion in pilot donations which served as a forerunner of Yield Giving.

[4] The committee meets in a public space (in what is known locally as a kulan) and discusses the needs of each potential program beneficiary and then does house-to-house verification of unmet humanitarian needs.

[8] Advocacy efforts cover topics such as illegal overfishing in Somali waters[19] and the importance of allowing cash remittances into Somalia.