MOGADISHU: Sanitation Status
Sanitation provision in Mogadishu (capital of Somalia) is grossly deficient, as in most cities in sub-Saharan Africa: most people do not have access to a hygienic toilet; large amounts of faecal waste are discharged to the environment without adequate treatment; this is likely to have major impacts on infectious disease burden and quality of life (Hutton et al. 2007). This article briefly summarizes the current sanitation situation in Mogadishu.
This page is part of the fully editable open-access reference source on the sanitation status of all major cities in sub-Saharan Africa. The resource considers the 40 urban agglomerations in sub-Saharan Africa with a current population of 1 million or more. To read some of the other 40 country profiles, go back tothe resource Homepage.
N.B These pages should be considered as incomplete provisional drafts, and contributions are actively requested from specialists with expert local knowledge of each specific city
Table of Contents
- Background information
- Water resources and supply: overview
- Sanitation access
- Sewerage system
- Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
- Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
- Sanitation in low-income districts
- Responsibility
- Sanitation masterplan?
- Sanitation financing
- Major investments and donor interventions
- Sources and further reading
- References
- Other City Profiles
Background information
Mogadishu is an urban agglomeration with a population of about 1.5 million people (Brinkhoff 2010), which since 1991 has lacked conventional government structures, and which is currently suffering violent military conflict. It is a flat coastal city on the Shabele River (though this river does not actually meet the sea at this latitude). Climate is hot semi-arid (Köppen classification BSh). Flooding is frequent and severe (see e.g. BBC 2006). Pollutant industrial activity includes food-processing. We have no information on agricultural activity within the urban area. As noted, Somalia is currently in a state of violent civil war; as at May 2010 Mogadishu itself is a war zone divided into sectors controlled by different factions. In October 2008, the BBC reported that at least half of Mogadishu’s population had abandoned the city, and as at May 2010 the situation remains critical (see Wikipedia article “Mogadishu”); so the actual population at the present time is unclear. The so-called Mogadishu-Afgoye corridor is a 30-km stretch of road west of Mogadishu, as at November 2009 occupied by an estimated 524,000 people, making it the largest and most densely populated displaced-persons’ settlement in the world (UNICEF 2009).
Water resources and supply: overview
Prior to national government collapse in the 1990s, Mogadishu’s piped supply came largely from boreholes (Nembrini & Conti 1998). There is practically no functional piped water supply infrastructure remaining in Mogadishu today (USAID 2009). Most people are reported to be dependent on shallow wells and/or donkey cart vendors supplying water from wells and boreholes (Nembrini & Conti 1998, Warsameh 2008).
Sanitation access
No detailed quantitative data available. USAID (2009) estimates that 51% of the urban population has access to sanitation facilities. Presumably wealthy households have septic tanks, while most other households have latrines of some sort, or no facilities.
Sewerage system
USAID (2009) suggests that Mogadishu has a vestigial sewerage system in some parts of the city; but this is presumably practically dysfunctional.
Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
No information available. Evidently, Mogadishu currently has no controlled policy or infrastructures for faecal sludge management.
Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
As far as we are aware, Mogadishu currently has no functional sewage treatment facilities.
Sanitation in low-income districts
No detailed information available; and of course the situation is very fluid. USAID (2009) states that almost no sanitation exists in areas where displaced people have settled, so that open defecation is widespread on the periphery of peri-urban areas and refugee cmps.
Responsibility
Given the absence of central authority in Mogadishu, there is clearly no institutional centralised framework for water and sanitation management. Other entities, including militia leaders, private operators, NGOs and CBOs, provide some limited services at the local scale.
Sanitation masterplan?
We are not aware of any detailed mapping of high-sanitation-need districts, or of any specific policy for sanitation improvement in informal settlements. Evidently, neither would be expected given Mogadishu’s current situation.
Sanitation financing
No information.
Major investments and donor interventions
Mogadishu currently receives only emergency aid. Conditions for donor intervention are of course extremely difficult. Nonetheless, there is some provision of emergency sanitation facilities; see for example http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LYLN-855MF5?OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=som http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/doc116?OpenForm&rc=1&cc=som&secid=12
A small UN-Habitat project including provision of water kiosks and public toilets (“Upgrading of community infrastructure in Mogadishu”, US $200,000) is reported to be underway, though we have no further information on this: http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=7170&catid=514&typeid=13&subMenuId=0
Sources and further reading
None known.
References
BBC (2006) “Floods follow drought in Somalia”. News report 29 Aug 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5296378.stm
Brinkhoff T (2010) City Population. http://www.citypopulation.de
Hutton G, Haller L & Bartram J (2007) Economic and health effects of increasing coverage of low cost household drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to countries off-track to meet MDG target 10. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. http://www.irc.nl/page/38443
Nembrini PG & Conti R (1998) In a town scarred by war. ICRC Forum “Water and war”, 1 Jan 1998. http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/57JPL5
UNEP/GRID-Arendal (2002) Water availability in Africa. UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library. http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/water_availability_in_africa.
UNICEF (2009) “Child Health Days reach displaced communities in Somalia’s Afgoye Corridor”. Press release 24 Nov 2009. http://www.unicef.org/emerg/somalia_51918.html
USAID (2009) Somalia: Water and Sanitation Profile. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADO923.pdf
Warsameh A (2008) Finding water in Mogadishu. News report 13 Aug 2008, Inter Press Service. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43548
Other City Profiles
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