MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – The World Bank approved a $70 million International Development Association (IDA) grant to develop resilient water, agriculture, and environmental services for rural communities in Somalia.
In a statement, World Bank said the project will provide water to 500,000 people, representing approximately 15% of the rural population, who currently only have access to limited services and unimproved or surface water.
“The Barwaaqo project supports communities to build resilience and adapt to climate change by improving access to water resources in a dryland environment,” said Kristina Svensson, World Bank Country Manager for Somalia. “Increasing access to water will help improve human health and well-being, particularly in the face of the current drought.”
World Bank Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist Chantal Richey said the Barwaaqo project will integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation measures and will support the strengthening of natural resources management.
“This includes water harvesting and storage, soil conservation, afforestation, and rangelands restoration around water points to slowly ‘green’ the drylands,” Richey was quoted as saying in a statement issued on Thursday evening.
The World Bank said the project will expand services in Somaliland, Puntland, Galmudug, and the Southwest States while expanding to include two additional federal member states, Hirshabelle and Jubbaland, where the project will focus on the areas situated away from the floodplains of the Shabelle and the Jubba rivers.
The Somalia Water for Rural Resilience Project named ‘Barwaaqo’ builds on the Biyoole project and comes at a critical time when Somalia is facing an unprecedented multi-season drought and worsening food insecurity.
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