Somalia: Water provided to displaced families living in camps

In Somalia, the situation caused by drought remains critical with at least 8 million people still in need of lifesaving assistance, and facing water insecurity. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the trend is set to worsen throughout 2023.

In Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps across Somalia in areas like Baidoa (Bay region), Afgooye (Shebelle region), and Dhobley (Lower Juba region), most of the new arrivals in IDP sites report having issues accessing water. They do not have sufficient water to meet their basic needs, and this is partly because water is too expensive or water points are too far in addition to the widespread shortage. As a consequence, families are led with no options but to send their children kilometers away in search of water.

To address this emergency situation, through its USAID-funded project, Acted supported 2023 15,000 vulnerable IDPs in accessing clean and drinkable water.

Despite all efforts put into scaling-up assistance, the water shortage has been an underlying issue throughout Somalia, especially as many WASH infrastructures are dysfunctional or provide unclean and insufficient water. The issue has been lasting and seems to be worsening over time as droughts are becoming more frequent.

The rains earlier in the year have underperformed, leaving most water sources unquenched. Many families from the most affected areas have opted to migrate to other areas in the hope of getting a more reliable water source but with these movements, conflicts among communities are becoming more frequent and might cause social tensions.

The high-water prices in most regions have pushed families to send children kilometers away to water points that are believed to have plenty of water, preventing them to go to school. Walking long distances in search of water is also dangerous for women and children as they stand a high risk of abuse, either sexual or physical.

In addition, the need for water is putting a lot of pressure on the current water points which may soon be depleted due to the high number of people trying to access this vital commodity for survival.