The Somali Regional State has inaugurated a new water supply system in Danood district, located in the Dollo Zone, marking a major step toward resolving the chronic water shortages that have long affected the area.
The project, which took 18 months to complete starting in August 2013, was officially opened during a ceremony attended by key regional and local officials, including the State’s Water Minister, Ahmed Mirad Layli; Dollo Zone Governor, Abdullahi Deq Hassan; and the Manager of the Lower Land Resilience Project (LLRP), Mukhtar Abdi Malim.
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Access to clean water
Officials at the event noted that the newly developed system will ensure residents and pastoralist communities have access to clean and dependable water. They added that the initiative will contribute to better public health, improved living conditions, and reduced hardship for women and children who previously had to travel long distances to collect water.
Data from a UNICEF and World Bank joint assessment indicates that only about 42% of households in the Somali Regional State currently have access to clean water, significantly below Ethiopia’s national average of 65%. Similarly, research published in Frontiers in Water (2023) revealed that more than half of households in the region still face limited water availability, while USAID figures show that fewer than 40% of residents in lowland areas can rely on a consistent water supply throughout the year.
The Somali Regional State government emphasized that the Danood water supply project aligns with its broader agenda to enhance drought resilience, promote sustainable livelihoods, and reduce poverty by expanding access to safe and reliable water services across the region.
