Somalia is set to improve water access for at least half a million people after securing $24.45 million grant from the African Developent Fund.
The Fund, which is a concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group approved the financing which is expected to help the East African Community member state to improve sanitation.
Under the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project II, Somalia targets to improve water access Dollow, Qardho and South Galkayo, where safe water remains scarce and climate shocks are growing more severe.
In Somalia, water scarcity has forced many women and children to treck for miles seeking the precious commodity, a move which has led to poor sanitation whih fuels disease and undermines dignity.
“This investment deepens our engagement in Somalia and marks another important step toward improving access to reliable water supply and sanitation services. By expanding resilient urban systems, we are enhancing health and hygiene and building local capacity,” said Bubacarr Sankareh AfDB lead advisor for Somalia operations.
According to the fund, the grant which was approved last month will be used to expand and rehabilitate water and sanitation systems in the three fast-growing towns which have absorbed an influx of internally displaced populations.
It will supply and install 40 km of transmission and distribution pipelines across the three towns, drill or rehabilitate 42 boreholes, and construct four water treatment plants and three new water quality testing labs, as well as installing 26 generators as solar panel backups across the localities.
Additionally, an estimated 915 shared household latrines are expected to be constructed, along with mobile desludging units to address overflowing waste. A hygiene promotion campaign on menstrual health will be rolled out targeting 30pc of the population.
