During dry seasons, rural populations in Somalia tend to prioritize water quantity over quality, leading to exposure to waterborne diseases. Wet seasons, such as the 2023 Deyr rainy season (October to December), has caused extensive flooding across Somalia, destroying existing water infrastructure and contaminating the few functional water sources. This has resulted in many riverine and displaced households experiencing a scarcity of safe drinking water.
Although water levels have receded in Somalia’s Dollow district, concerns persist about the spread of acute watery diseases, particularly cholera, posing a significant health threat to this community with limited healthcare resources. The stagnant water has also led to an increase in mosquito infestations.
Communities impacted by disasters frequently face a shortage of clean water and sanitation facilities, increasing their risk and disease exposure. Displacements and changes in established routines in the new environments may also lead to a decline in hygiene practices, escalating the likelihood of disease transmission. Therefore, this initiative strives to empower vulnerable communities with appropriate knowledge and resources, aiming to enhance access to lifesaving hygiene services for those affected by floods in the Dollow district and mitigate the risk of Acute Watery Diseases (AWDs)/Cholera.
As part of Nomadic Assistance for Peace and Development’s (NAPAD) emergency flood response in Somalia, supported by funding from Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF), NAPAD provided hygiene and sanitation training for 30 Community Hygiene Promoters (CHPs) in Qurdubey, Busle, Garbolow, and the Dollow Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) sites, including Ladan, Kaharey, Kabasa, and Qansaxlay. The training emphasized adopting appropriate hygiene and sanitation practices to reduce the risk and transmission of Acute Watery Diseases (AWDs)/Cholera.
With these resources, the CHPs have been engaging in door-to-door community hygiene promotion for the past month. These informative sessions are also conducted in diverse community settings, including marketplaces, water points, tea joints, and other social spaces. The CHPs also use visual materials, such as posters with critical messages displayed in the images backed up by simple words in the local language. These methods disseminate crucial hygiene information messages, emphasizing proper sanitation practices, proper handwashing, safe water treatment and storage, control of flies, mosquitoes, and other disease vectors, and household preparedness towards floods.
Abshiro Hassan Bashir from Kabasa IDP camp and the leader of the CHPS said, “We engage with people in various settings, educating them on appropriate hygiene and sanitation practices and the need for positive behaviour change to improve their hygiene practices.” Abshiro shared that her passion for the role comes from a lifelong dream of contributing positively to her community, a dream realized through her active engagement in this hygiene promotion campaign.
To further motivate the hygiene promoters, NAPAD offers a monthly stipend to the Health Promoters, recognizing their dedication to conducting this campaign within their communities. With community mobilization and participation being significant in this initiative, the CHPs have successfully disseminated the hygiene and sanitation messages to an impressive audience of around 1,000 individuals, which will continue to increase in the coming months.“The hygiene and sanitation sessions have greatly changed our lives. I am greatly thankful to NAPAD for their support to us,” shared one of the female vendors participating in the campaign at the market. She further pointed out how the hygiene and sanitation campaigns have provided practical knowledge and tools that have positively influenced her daily practices, contributing to her and her household adopting improved sanitation practices.
