UNDP and Somali Government launch community-led water access drive in drought-hit districts

Mogadishu, Somalia | July 2025 — A new push to improve rural water access in Somalia is underway, following a series of community consultations across four drought-affected districts: Qararo, Shangeed, Owrbogeys, and Bacadweyn. The initiative, supported by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), is being rolled out jointly by the Federal Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Held between June 13 and 30, 2025, the consultations gathered hundreds of community members — including elders, women, and youth — to identify urgent water needs, select borehole sites, and establish Water User Associations (WUAs) to manage future infrastructure. UNDP will drill 10 boreholes as part of the project, prioritizing villages with limited or no access to clean water.

Most of the villages selected for the borehole grant are reeling under acute water crisis, with residents forced to rely on unsafe water (collected in open Berkads as shown in the photo) year-round. With new boreholes underway, communities like Qararo will soon have safer, more reliable access to clean water. Photo: Courtesy of Qararo Water Users’ Group

In Qararo, where no boreholes currently exist, women and children walk 15 kilometers daily to fetch water. Two drilling sites have been secured and a local water users’ committee formed. Similar interventions are planned in Shangeed, Owrbogeys, and Bacadweyn, each with unique challenges but shared goals: reliable water access, local ownership, and long-term resilience.

This effort marks a shift toward inclusive, locally driven water governance in some of Somalia’s most water-stressed communities.

Read more about the project on the UNDP Somalia Website