Hundreds of pastoralist families and their livestock in villages around Mudug region are facing an extreme water shortage as the water pans, boreholes and other sources of water have dried up.
Ali Bashi Adan, Elgula chief, Said that hundreds of rural people have flocked to towns in search of drinking water for them and their animals.
“Insufficient short rains coupled with the almost total collapse of the rural water supply system is going to be the cause of a terrible human crisis,” Adan said.
“People in here have experienced severe water and food shortages in the last two months. Just we don’t know where to find water “ he said.
The villages do not have a single water well and residents used to rely on dams and pans that are now dry.
He pointed out that they currently have to rely on water brought from the district, which is 30 km away. However, most of the residents cannot afford to pay for the imported water as the price has sharply increased.
A resident, Mohamed Osman, Said that a barrel of water now costs 100 Somali shillings (roughly $4.5), up from 40,000 Somali shillings before the scarcity began.
They fear the water shortage will worsen and threaten living conditions for the mostly agro-pastoralist communities.
They fear the water shortage will worsen and threaten living conditions for the mostly agro-pastoralist communities.
He called on Federal government and Mudug officials to help venerable people in time despite hundreds of people have displaced from their villages in Mudug region, seeking places to refuge.
