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Access to safe drinking water for both human and animal population is fundamental for good quality of life. Pastoralist communities in the Qool Caday grazing plain of Somaliland, have long suffered the lack of a centralized communal water system for human and animal consumption, despite the fact that the topography of the area offers suitable conditions for sustainable water harvesting.

To address this gap, the Somaliland Ministry of Livestock has secured funding from the Somaliland Development Fund (SDF) to implement the Livestock Holding Ground Project. The project supports the construction of water harvesting infrastructure including drilling of two boreholes and excavation of three earth dams, as well as other livestock enhancing support services including the construction of seven animal health and inspection centers.

“We are all very excited about the project. This project has come a long way in restoring hope of water for the pastoralists in the Aroori grazing areas. Water is life.”

Aden Mohamed, Resident Aroori, Togdheer 

The livelihoods of the pastoralists in the Aroori grazing area near Burao mainly depend on herding livestock, good rains and pasture. Recently, their way of life has come under threat due to the recurring droughts, environmental degradation, livestock depletion and drinking water shortages that are experienced in the area during the dry season.

Somaliland has a long coast line of 850 km along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. These waters are home to various species of fish. Unfortunately, Somaliland fishermen are currently capturing less than 5% of the estimated sustainable fish stock in Somaliland.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Water Technology Institute was held on 26 July 2017 in Hargeisa. The event marks the start of the construction of the renewed Water Technology Institute. The project is implemented by the Somaliland Ministry of Water Resources and is funded by the Somaliland Development Fund (SDF).

The institute, which provides short term vocational trainings, currently consists of one work shop and two small rooms. The Ministry will construct a one-story building and four classrooms. After completion of the construction, it is expected that the institute can admit more students in a regular way and provide a more advanced level of training.

Somaliland is a water-scarce country and access to a safe and permanent water supply is a major problem. Against this background, the Somaliland Development Fund, through the Ministry of Water Resources, has funded the Water Resources Development Project. The project aims to improve the availability and access of water in Somaliland in a sustainable, equitable and environmentally safe way for all different uses.

Sool and Sanaag regions have the worst access to education indicators in Somaliland. The two regions are located in the East of Somaliland, which is remote and difficult to access. In education, the main challenges stem from long-term inadequate resource allocations for maintenance of educational infrastructure, underpayment and shortage of qualified staff, and grossly insufficient educational materials and supplies.

The 38-year-old Mustafa from Debis, Sahil region, has been working in the forest almost every day for the last 20 years cutting trees to secure a living for his immediate and extended family. He has been increasingly anxious about the nature of his job. Now, Mustafa is back to the vicinity where he used to conduct his charcoal business, but this time is different: he is participating in the conservation of the forest, turning from “war on nature to savior” as a result of a forestry project, implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Rural Development.

Engineering has always been a male-dominated career terrain where very few women dare to tread. For many, it is just one of those careers that hasn’t truly shaken off the ‘male-female’ divide. In Somaliland, however, two young women are pushing that boundary and demystifying the perception that engineering as a career is an exclusive preserve of men. Naima Faisal Mohamud and Nimco Mohamed Ibrahim are both Civil Engineers attached to the Roads Development Agency in Hargeisa.

Abdi Hashi, 53, agro-pastoralist, lives in Laalayska, a village in the Maroodijeh Upper Catchment area, about 24 km west of Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa. His home, a small hut, is located at the bottom of a hill on rough terrain overlooking the dry agricultural land of Mahbuubta area. Lack of water has turned the surrounding trees black and the soil dry. Rain has been sporadic over the recent years and the area is now experiencing a drought. Over the past years, persistent water scarcity, recurrent droughts and soil erosion have led to poor harvests from farms and killed many of the livestock he owned. Due to soil erosion and overgrazing, the little uncultivated land available has gradually turned into rough terrain and gullies formed in the eroded parts.

Hargeisa Water Agency (HWA) conducted a launching ceremony for construction of new Water Quality Laboratory at the HWA offices. Being the first of its kind in Somaliland, upon completion, the laboratory will be used for water quality monitoring to ensure that all the safety of water consumed in Hargeisa. Specifically, the laboratory will be used for conducting bacteriological, waste, heavy metal, full chemical and sediment analysis to ensure the water is of good quality for any intended purpose. This will ensure that the about I million residents of Hargeisa and Somaliland citizens in general have clean drinking water.

The Somaliland Minister of Health, Mr. Saleeban Essa Ahmed, and the Minister of Education, Mr. Abdillahi Ibrahim Habbane, jointly officiated over the launching of the reconstruction of the Las Anod boarding school and rehabilitation of Las Anod regional Hospital.

On the 15th of June, an Event was held in the Ambassador Hotel marking the official closing of the SDF-funded Capacity Surge Project Phase 2 (CSP2) in Hargeisa. Since November 2015, 130 civil servants from Hargeisa, Las Anod and Erigavo took part in CSP2, a training programme on project management delivered jointly by the SDF Secretariat and the Civil Service Institute. During the Closing Event, the 85 trainees from Hargeisa who had successfully completed the training, received Certificates of Project Management. Separate Events will be held in July for the trainees from Las Anod and Erigavo.

More than 10,000 residents of Ayaha 1 and 2 settlements in the outskirts of Hargeisa city mainly vulnerable Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are set to benefit from recently completed Ayaha 1 and 2 Water Supply System project. The project which is funded by the Somaliland Development Fund and implemented by Hargeisa Water Agency is expected to provide 302M3/day of water which will ensure the residents have access to clean and safe domestic water throughout year.

Hargeisa, Somaliland. On 9 June 2015 – a delegation from the Government of Somaliland (GoSL) accompanied by the Somaliland Development Fund (SDF) donors visited the Roads Development Agency (RDA) laboratory to see the equipment funded by the SDF. Later on, the delegation visited Hargeisa Water Agency (HWA) pipe storage facility where recently imported pipes for Hargeisa Urban Water Supply Upgrading Project pipes have been stored. The purpose of the visit was to provide the GoSL and the donors with an opportunity to see recently supplied modern laboratory in RDA as well as the recently arrived 371 container loads with 3,696 pieces of 600mm ductile pipes (slightly over 21km) meant for use in the upgrading of the Hargeisa Urban Water main water pipeline. An additional 124 containers with pipes, valves and fittings are expected during the coming month.  Both laboratory equipment and the pipes are funded by the SDF.

Press Release - Gargooray, Boon District- Awdal Region, Monday, December 15th , 2014

The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) of the Republic of Somaliland today officially launched Gargooray Water Supply Project. The project seeks to improve access to portable water to about 3,600 inhabitants of Gargoray through borehole drilling, construction of water supply system & establishing a sustainable management committee in Gargooray. The project also includes making provisions for watering of animals.