Severe water scarcity, after persistent drought, is threatening the lives of herders and their livestock in more than 85 towns and villages in Puntland.
The head of Puntland’s emergency aid committee, Awil Mohamed Hirsi, told Radio Ergo the situation was most alarming in the coastal areas of Bari region and remote rural settlements in Mudug and Nugal Regions.
Hirsi said they had embarked on water trucking in drought-hit Eyl and Dangoroyo towns in Nugal to ensure that no lives were lost during the drought.
“The level of the drought is alarming and has caused water prices to go up. A water tanker has shot up from $70 to $300 in Laq-lajis and Qalanqal villages in the remote rural areas between Mudug and Nugal regions, making it impossible for affected pastoralists to buy water,” said Hirsi.
The water shortage has badly hit Jarriban district in Mudug region, Eyl district in Nugal region, Bargali district in Bari region and several areas in Sool region.
Abdiwahid Mohamed Salah, an elder in Bargal district, told Radio Ergo that 20 pastoralist families, whose livestock had perished in the drought, arrived in their district. “One of the affected families lost more than 200 goats in the drought,” Salah said.
In Bargal district, a full tanker of water is selling at $400, while a barrel of water is being sold at $25, according to Salah.
Puntland authorities called on international aid agencies to provide water, food and medicine to the disadvantaged pastoralist communities, who have not yet received any aid.
