Somalia - Improving Access to Water and Sanitation Services in Somalia

The Improving Access to Rural Water and Sanitation in Somalia (IAWSRS) project is an autonomous investment and institutional strengthening operation. The project addresses urgent needs for water and sanitation provision in rural and peri-urban areas affected by recurring droughts and waterborne diseases such as acute watery diarrhea and cholera. Indeed, the state of disrepair of water and sanitation infrastructure is a major factor contributing to significant outbreaks of water-borne diseases, particularly diarrhea whose incidence rate in Somalia is 21%. The interventions proposed under this project will therefore improve the quality of life of about 175,000 people and their livestock in rural Somalia. They are articulated around the following two operational components: 1) capacity building and 2) construction / rehabilitation of water supply and sanitation infrastructure for stability and resilience that will create about 1,300 jobs. In addition, the project will promote the use of water for multiple purposes, community mobilization campaigns and awareness of health and hygiene issues will be conducted, practices of nondéfécation in the open, through the community-led total sanitation approach will also be promoted. The total cost of the project is estimated at about UA 8,189 million.