'Every living thing': The nexus of cultural and economic values within resilient urban water systems (A case study of Hargeisa, Somaliland)

As urban populations in sub-Saharan Africa expand, creating resilient urban water systems to sustain human health and sanitation is a primary development challenge.

This challenge is acute in Somaliland, where rapid urbanization and economic growth create immediate and long-term water stress.

Through a case study of Hargeisa, this project fuses insights from socio-hydrology, water economics and social geography to explore how economic and cultural values interact with informal water practices to shape urban water access.

Through partnership with Somaliland organisations, the project aims to strengthen the resilience of urban water supplies and secure affordable access to safe water for all.

Other organisations

Organisations involved include:

• Ministry of Water Resources
• Somaliland Government
• Hargeisa Water Authority
• Gollis University, Hargeisa
• University of Hargeisa.

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The project team

Principal investigator

Team

• 

  Dr Adrian Healy

  Principal Research Fellow

• 

  Professor Alison Brown

  Professor of Urban Planning & International Development

• 

  Professor Max Munday

  Director of Welsh Economy Research Unit