Improving access to safe water for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a fragile state, Somalia

Delivering basic social service to most vulnerable people in fragile states is the ultimate challenge for both the international community and government institutions. Water service delivery is an inevitable necessity for human lives. Provision of water supply at Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) settlements has been implemented in several areas of Somalia in order to tackle with mobile populations, which consisted of majority of the population. Findings revealed that potable small scale water treatment systems using surface water were effective in a context of high population mobility. New flocculation technology, Poly-Glu, made by soy-bean in combination with chlorination worked well in the high turbidity water where only turbid surface water is available. Yet to address long-term sustainability, involvement of the private sector and capacity building initiatives are needed to maintain small-scale water treatment systems utilizing this new treatment method without external support