To increase water availability, accessibility and food security for 11,700 (1,950 families) beneficiaries in Biidhaaley and Sahil areas of Somaliland Republic who are facing a severe drought.

 Specific Objective

Increased availability and accessibility of safe water up to 15L/person/day in targeted communities in Bildhaaley and Sahil areas of Somaliland within 12 months.

 Main Activities

• Strengthen and train existing WASH committees.
• Rehabilitate 15 shallow wells and 2 boreholes
• Support 43 families with Non Food Items (NFIs)
• Train 20 village health promoters

Somaliland Republic has six regions namely; Sool, Sanag,ToghDeer, Sahil, Awdal and Maroodi Jeex (Hargeisa). Somaliland just like the rest of Somalia is experiencing drought conditions due to poor and insufficient rainfall for the past several years The April‐ June 2009 Food Security Nutrition Assessment Unit (FSNAU) Quarterly Report shows that there is an emerging Drought and Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis (AFLC) in Northern Pastoral Areas of Somaliland. The situation is getting worse in the northern regions of Sool, Sanag and northeastern ToghDeer, due to recent rain failure, which is compounded by three previous seasons of relatively poor and patchy rainfall. Currently, all the six regions of Somaliland republic Sahil included are affected by a severe drought. It is estimated that 40 percent of the population (1,400,000) people are directly affected by the current drought. This is out of a population of 3.7 million people in Somaliland. The Deyr’ (short) and `Gu’ (long) rains in Somaliland have been below normal since 2007.

The majority of the people who reside in target areas are mainly agro‐pastoralists who derive their livelihoods from farming and livestock rearing. Water availability is inadequate, inaccessible and grossly limited and hindered by poor water extraction methods. The available water points are in poor condition and need desilting and rehabilitation to make them more productive. The geological rock formation in the coastal regions of Somaliland including Bildhaaley and Sahil is conducive to water drilling and extraction but due to lack of resources and technical know how, the communities still experience inadequate water supplies and poor sanitation. People and their livestock derive their water from berkads and dams which act as water reservoirs during the rainy seasons and the few functional boreholes drilled during the colonial government.

At the moment, both the berkads and dams are dry due to the poor rains, while the few functioning water points ‐wells and boreholes cannot meet the ever increasing water demand due to their poor state and form of disrepair. Pasture resources in the areas which received moderate rains were quickly depleted due to large livestock in‐migration from neighboring rain deficit areas. There is a high level of livestock off‐take, as well as high abortion rates, culling of kids/lambs, and drought induced livestock diseases making the situation grim.

Water for human and livestock consumption is critical in Bildhaaley and Sahil areas of Somaliland and the lack of water is a prime cause of population displacement, and high malnutrition and morbidity rates. The scale and scope of the water and sanitation emergency tasks needed to alleviate the situation are beyond the capacity of existing Somaliland Government and regional administrative structures. Hence, the need for ADRA  - through the DERPS Project - to intervene in the emerging emergency drought situation by rehabilitating the most productive water points and providing Non Food Items (NFIs) to vulnerable communities such as the elderly, IDPs and disabled children.