Climate-resilient WASH services in humanitarian response: a case study of Somalia

Climate change increased variability and frequency has intensified impacts on WASH services. These impacts compound other existing needs especially in humanitarian settings increasing the vulnerabilities of the affected populations disproportionately, such as those in Somalia, which has been dealing with a protracted crisis and climate hazards for over 3 decades. This has increased the focus on how WASH services can adapt to the evolving context and be able to continue to provide services or recover after being affected by the climatic hazards and minimise impacts on the affected population. Humanitarian actors must balance between addressing immediate needs and at the same time ensuring their services are climate resilient. This study aimed to establish how climate change affected the delivery of WASH services in Somalia, how humanitarian agencies have integrated climate resilience into their WASH programmes, the challenges they face and potential actions to improve resilience. Using a case study research strategy with mixed methods, it involved 28 online questionnaires and 14 key informant interviews with WASH professionals. The study found that impacts of climatic hazards, droughts and flooding were significantly disrupting WASH services, aggravating vulnerabilities of the affected population and reversing the gains made. Humanitarian actors have been aligning their programmes with the changes but at not at same pace with climate change due to pre-existing technical and institutional expertise and amplified by climate change. This study has provided some practical insights into current efforts and associated challenges and suggested ways to scale up the successful interventions