Programs in Somalia
Urgent needs assessment
In July, 2007, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) assessed the condition of water, sanitation and hygiene in three villages and four camps for internally-displaced people in the Mudug region of Somalia. This drought-prone area, which already hosted some 40,000 people displaced by fighting in the early 1990s, has seen an influx of an additional 60,000 internally displaced people since January 2007.
Our assessment found that households in these areas had access to an average of just 5 liters of water per day. Only 54 percent of households had access to clean drinking water containers, and just 29 percent had access to a latrine. Almost a quarter of the households - 23 percent - reported having at least one case of diarrhea in the two weeks prior to the survey being taken.
Clean water and safe sanitation
The IRC is providing displaced people -– and the communities where they are now staying -– with clean water and safe sanitation. The IRC improving both the quantity and quality of water available by rehabilitating hand-dug wells and boreholes and facilitating water-trucking in the worst-hit areas. We’ve distributed 220 concrete slabs for rural household latrines and are also constructing 66 new communal latrines for 3,300 displaced people currently in camps in Gaalkacyo town. IRC water and sanitation projects directly benefit more than 80,000 people.
Hygiene promotion
All IRC water and sanitation projects include a hygiene education component, as there is generally a low level of knowledge about good heath practices in Somalia. IRC staff members train community volunteers in how to use simple, effective methods to improve health -- for example, by boiling drinking water and washing hands frequently. We also conduct an awareness-raising campaign with the Voice of Mudug radio station, which broadcasts messages about how to improve family health.
Livelihoods
The IRC ensures that valuable livestock have enough water by building animal drinking troughs, we’ve launched new livelihoods efforts, including training and equipping community animal healthcare workers and constructing hygienic slaughter slabs in villages.
In areas worst hit by the drought, the IRC is planning destocking projects where the it will buy livestock from herders (thus ensuring they have cash in hand) and distribute the meat to vulnerable people. Similarly, we will carry out livestock redistribution where animals are purchased and then supplied to families that depend on livestock for their livelihood but who have lost their own herds due to drought or disease.
Finally, the IRC supports poor pastoral families through cash-for-work schemes. These projects rehabilitate crucial infrastructure, such as water systems, and inject cash so that households can meet their needs without having to resort to measures such as selling off their last remaining livestock.
Partners
The IRC works closely with the Somalia NGO Consortium, the Somali Support Secretariat, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and other implementing agencies.
