A new way of working in crisis

In Somalia, a test case for the UN’s commitment to bridging humanitarian and development work.

Mohamed Ismail Yasin travelled 600 km to reach the sand dam near Bandarbeyla, in the Bari region of Somalia. He came with six members of his family and all the livestock they could bring.

“I came from Mayle district,” Mohamed recounts. “We fled from the drought in the region. The livestock that we brought here got pasture, and today we brought them to the water dam to give then water.”

The sand dam is one of the water harvesting structures built by UNDP in partnership with the Global Environment Facility. It aims to reduce the impacts of climate change-induced disasters like droughts and floods.

It’s the nearest dependable water source for Mohamed’s family and for other pastoralists struggling to earn a living against a crippling drought. Poor rainfall over three consecutive seasons has led to widespread crop failure and livestock deaths, increasing the rates of hunger, malnutrition, disease and population displacement.