Sand dams improving access to water supplies for people in Somalia

Parts of the Horn of Africa nation have not received rain for three consecutive years and, as a result, crops and livestock have perished. Many fear a repeat of the 2011 famine in which nearly 260,000 people died.

The construction of sand dams which retain water above and below sandbars is improving access to water supplies for people in Somalia as the country continues to weather periods of damaging drought. 

Parts of the Horn of Africa nation have not received rain for three consecutive years and, as a result, crops and livestock have perished. Many fear a repeat of the 2011 famine in which nearly 260,000 people died.

But now the UN Development Programme-supported sand dams are providing immediate access to water and a longer-term solution to the challenges of climate change-related droughts.