By - Reporter
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MOGADISHU, 23 October 2026 A water project run by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia has so far benefited 36,000 people and aims to reach 120,000, the agency said, as it pairs new boreholes with community management to keep the water systems running.
The Sustainable Access to Water for Rural Communities Project is funded by the Saudi Fund for Development, UNDP said. It said three boreholes were completed in 2025 and seven more are planned for 2026, which would bring the project to its target of 10 boreholes.
UNDP said in a social media post that new infrastructure alone cannot sustain water systems and that strong community ownership is essential. It said community consultation workshops have been held in Inagabile, Gadoon, Haadweyne, Yeed and Qaloocato to give residents a direct say in how their water is managed.
A water management committee has been set up and oriented for each new borehole, UNDP said. It said operations and maintenance training is planned to support long-term management of the facilities.
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The Saudi Fund for Development is providing US$2 million for the project, which is implemented with Somalia’s Federal Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, UNDP said when the project was announced in February 2025. The boreholes are solar-powered, and the project is expected to be completed in December 2026, UNDP said then. It said more than 3 million people are expected to benefit indirectly.
“Access to clean water is a fundamental human right,” Somalia’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Abdullahi Bidhan Warsame, said at the time, according to UNDP.
UNDP did not say when the seven planned boreholes will be finished.