ADRA Launches Drought Response Project in Somalia

Nairobi, Kenya ? The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has launched a two-month project to improve water availability and accessibility for thousands of drought-affected people in the Tieglow district and Hudur town of Bakol Region, South Somalia.

The ADRA Bakol Water Drought Response (BWDR) project impacts areas severely hit by drought and where ADRA has previously implemented water projects. Due to changes in population, water use in overcrowded villages has increased dramatically. As a result, wells and boreholes have either dried up, or have reduced water levels, sometimes by up to 50 percent.

The BWDR project will address the emergency water and sanitation needs of drought-affected communities in six villages for 7,000 people, including 900 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Wells will be deepened to improve access to water, and livestock troughs and sewage drainage canals will be rehabilitated to improve sanitation and to reduce the risk of disease.

Funded by UNICEF Somalia, the BWDR project will also improve the communities? environmental sanitation and personal hygiene through health and hygiene education classes. It also aims to strengthen the maintenance and management capacities of the water points, ensuring that mechanisms are in place to reduce the effects of future droughts.

Members of the eight local Water, Environment and Sanitation (WES) committees and the Tieglow and Hudur District Water Boards will also receive training in health and sanitation management, as well as conflict mitigation. Participatory monitoring of works and progress will be carried out on a weekly basis between ADRA staff and partners, such as the village council, WES committees, district council members, and District Water Boards. The ADRA office in Somalia has operated since 1992.

Over time, ADRA has managed over 50 projects in water; health care; education; food security; infrastructure; institutional capacity building; micro-enterprise development; and emergency response interventions.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious affiliation, age, or ethnicity. Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org. -END-

Author: Jason Nyantino Media Contact: Nadia McGill ADRA International 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 Phone: 301.680.5145
E-mail: Media.Inquries@adra.org

Source: ADRA, May 9, 2006