EU and UNICEF Inaugurate Urban Water Project in Somaliland

On 2 December 2018, Horn Diplomat reported that the European Union and UNICEF, together with the Government of Somaliland and partners, inaugurated an urban water project in Tog Wajaale, Somaliland. The event marked the completion of a system described as delivering "safe, affordable water" to "hundreds of thousands of families" across areas of Somaliland, according to the joint press release carried by the outlet.

The project, named the Improving Urban Water Service Delivery in Somaliland Project, brought together government, private water companies and communities through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, the release stated. It involved the rehabilitation or rebuilding of water systems in four towns: Borama, Burao, Erigavo and Tog Wajaale, with funding from the EU and technical support from UNICEF and partners. A caption in the report references funding from EuropeAid, but no funding amount or instrument is stated.

UNICEF, quoted in the release, said "some 800,000 people now have sustainable access to safe drinking water" as a result of the project. The same release said the project meant that for 800,000 residents, "safe, affordable water is no longer a dream but a reality." The report does not provide a methodology or survey year for that figure.

Fulgencio Garrido Ruiz, EU Chargé d'Affaires to Somalia, was quoted describing the new supply as "a far better alternative to the unhygienic and expensive water previously supplied from the earth dam at the border with Ethiopia." Jesper Moller, UNICEF Acting Representative, also made a statement, but the Horn Diplomat article does not quote him directly.

The press release included access statistics for Somaliland: 68 per cent of the population have access to a reliable water source, while in rural areas only 28 per cent of households can access an improved water source. No source, survey year or methodology is given for these figures, and the units mix population and households.

The report says the project reached completion, asserting "the completion of the EU-UNICEF Urban Water Project" in Tog Wajaale. It also includes an anecdote about a resident named Ismail who said, "When the pipes reach our neighborhood, I will stop selling water and go to school," with the release stating his "dream of an education is finally coming true."

Horn Diplomat's report, published the day of the inauguration, provides no evidence of what has happened since 2 December 2018. It gives no contract value, project cost or budget, names no contractor or private water company, and includes no post-inauguration performance data, functionality status, tariff record, or independent verification of the claims. The completion language comes from the joint press release, not from an engineering certificate or handover document.