Somalia’s federal government and regional leaders are splitting 70 million dollars in World Bank grant between the head of the Federal Government of Somalia, the regional governments of the country and the governor of Banadir region will be held in Mogadishu.
The World Bank said it has approved a 70 million U.S. Dollar International Development Association grant to develop resilient water, agriculture, and environmental services for rural communities in Somalia’s drylands, according to Xinhua News Agency reported.
Read: Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh history of corruption 2012-2017
Read: Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh history of corruption 2012-2017
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 South West 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.
Read: Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh history of corruption 2012-2017
The Somalia Water for Rural Resilience Project, known as “Barwaaqo” and builds on the Biyoole project, comes at a critical time when Somalia is facing an unprecedented multi-season drought and worsening food insecurity.
It said this project will provide water to 500,000 people, representing approximately 15 percent of the rural population, who currently only have access to limited services and unimproved or surface water.
Kristina Svensson, World Bank country manager for Somalia, said the Barwaaqo project supports communities to build resilience and adapt to climate change by improving access to water resources in a dryland environment.