IOM KNOWS THE NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES

quarterly activity reportissue 03: JULY-SEPTEMBER 2013Somalia
T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L O R G A N I Z AT I O N F O R M I G R AT I O N ( I O M )THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION (IOM)KNOWS THE NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE WE ARE THERE
IOM is present in 8 locations across Somalia. Our skilled and experienced staff are trained to adapt tosituations and resolve crises as they arise, all the while working in cooperation with authorities andpartners. This ensures that any support to IOM leads to results exactly where they are needed.

SUPPORT IOM IN SOMALIA
contact: iomsomaliapdm@iom.int

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issue 03: july - SEPTEMBER 2013

1iOM KNOWs THe NeeDs AND OPPORTuNiTies

iOM KNOWs THe NeeDs AND OPPORTuNiTies

MEET OUR PARTNERS
IOM’s water, Sanitation and Hygiene (wASH) programme is based on a uniquepublic-private partnership (ppp) that utilizes innovative, cost-effective, andenvironmentally-friendly technologies for clean and safe water provision inparallel with hygiene promotion. Today, across Somalia, IOM is providing cleanand safe water more than 44,000 people every day, meeting the minimum
requirement of the Somalia wASH cluster.
We speak to Dahir Abdirahman Abdi, Programme Manager at Action for Social andEconomic Progress (ASEP), IOM’s implementing partner in Gedo Region, Somalia.

QA

How is IOM Somalia working with ASEP toimprove the well-being of migrants, mobile
populations, and their host communities?
In partnership with IOM Somalia, ASEp provides clean andsafe water in parallel with hygiene promotion to some ofSomalia’s most vulnerable mobile populations, and their
host communities. Through these activities, we are making
remarkable progress towards reducing water-borne diseases inSomalia.

and have credibility in the eyes of local authorities, community
leaders and beneficiaries should be forged.
Furthermore, owing to security concerns in certain areas, it
is much easier for Somali nationals to monitor projects andprogrammes, than it would be for a foreigner.
IOM conducts regular trainings for its implementing partners. © IOM 2013 (photo: Abdulkadir Ahmed)

ASEp operates across Gedo Region in southern Somalia, andare currently partnering with IOM in three IDp settlements:
Balanbaalle I & II, Aljazeera in Luuq town, and kabasa IDp campin Dollow town.
clean and safe water is provided through a water treatment
facility that purifies high turbid water using Japaneseflocculation technology “poly-Glu” and disinfects the waterwith chlorination.

QAA

What are some of the biggest challenges ofmobile and migrant populations, and their hostcommunities in hard-to-reach areas acrossSomalia?

AThere are a few people that can deny that in hard-to-reachareas across Somalia, there are no big or small challenges –almost everything seems to be a major concern because very
few organizations are present to offer sustainable support tolocal communities and government initiatives.

How many other organizations has ASEP
partnered with, and against that backdrop
what would you say IOM Somalia’s comparativeadvantages are?

we specialize in provision water, Sanitation and Hygiene(wASH) activities, and this is because the past two decades ofconflict resulted in deterioration of the water and sanitation
situation across Somalia, weakening communities’ socialstructures and coping mechanisms. The continued internal
displacement of population adds increasing pressure on
an already overextended wASH infrastructure. According
to a report released by wHO and uNIcEF, in 2012, only an
estimated 30 per cent of Somalia’s population had access tosafe and clean water.

Not many local organizations have the level of capacity that
we do, and as such, we are a preferred partner for many
international organizations that implement projects andprogrammes in Somalia.
In comparison to many of the organizations we have partneredwith, IOM has well-trained, culturally-sensitive, flexible,
enthusiastic and friendly programme Support Officers attheir field-offices & sub-offices, which helps to enhance theefficiency of work, and this is very important in an environment
like Somalia where the ground shifts very fast.

QQ

QA

Why is collaboration and partnership soimportant, for organizations like IOM that
operate in Somalia?
Somalia has differences in context and the ground in thiscountry shifts very fast. If an organization intends to implement
sustainable projects and programmes that communities willtake ownership of, it is imperative that partnerships with highly
qualified local NGOs that understand the cultural dimension

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A water tank is set up at kabasa IDp settlement by the community,
IOM and partners. © IOM 2013 (photo: kaoi Nakasa)

Q
A

Moving forward, how do you think thepartnership between ASEP and IOM will evolve
over the next few years?
Over the next few years, I foresee a situation where ASEpand IOM will no longer be needed in Somalia. Every day, ourgovernment’s institutions are being strengthened, and localcommunities are displaying more resilience than they everhave. Soon, Somalis will handle their own matters without
assistance from organizations like ours.
In the mid-term, I see ASEp and IOM strengthening thesustainability components of our wASH programme, andreaching more of Somalia’s vulnerable mobile populations andtheir host communities.

What has been the foremost success of IOM’spartnership with ASEP?
we have enjoyed innumerable successes. If I was to narrow it
down to two things, I would say targeting more than 10,000
people with provision of clean and safe water to on a daily
basis, and realizing a marked improvement in the community’s
general hygiene and sanitation, which has led a reduction inwater-borne diseases.

Every year, IOM and partners commemorate Global Handwashing Day in Somalia.
© IOM 2013 (photo: GSA)

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IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits
migrants and society. As the leading international organization for migration, IOM
acts with its partners in the international community to: Assist in meeting thegrowing operational challenges of migration management; Advance understandingof migration issues; Encourage social and economic development through migration;
Uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

IOM distributes goats to help support the return and re-integration of families in Somalia who wereforced to flee from their homes due to natural catastrophes or insecurity. © IOM 2013 (Photo: GREDO)IOM Somalia Coordination Office in Nairobi,
Gitanga Groove – off Gitanga Road,
Tel: +254 20 292 6000, PO Box 1810-00606, Nairobi, Kenya

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