Somalia WASH Humanitarian Overview - 2025 Mid-year update (As of 14 July 2025)

5.2M People in need

3.8M People targeted

1.3M People reached

Situational update

In 2025, Somalia's WASH crisis continues to deteriorate due to the combined effects of prolonged droughts, recent flash floods, and critical funding shortfalls. The Gu and Hagaa rains triggered flash floods in several districts in Banadir and Galmudug, damaging latrines and contaminating shallow wells, further reducing access to safe water and sanitation. Meanwhile, drought persists across much of southern and central Somalia, where drying riverbeds and declining groundwater levels-particularly in areas like Gedo-are making water access increasingly difficult. Rising groundwater salinity, especially in coastal and riverine zones, is also rendering some sources unsafe for use. Despite these challenges, WASH Cluster partners have continued delivering lifesaving services, reaching 1.3 million people by mid-2025. This includes sustainable water access for over 760,K individuals, emergency water support for 330K, sanitation services for 265K, and hygiene promotion for nearly 786K people.

Meanwhile, funding for the 2025 Somalia WASH Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) remains critically low, with only 6.6% of the required resources received as of mid-July. This shortfall has severely constrained the ability of WASH Cluster partners to maintain or scale up life-saving interventions. Humanitarian actors are warning that unless urgent support is mobilized, more communities will lose access to essential WASH services, and disease outbreaks such as cholera-already endemic in Somalia-could intensify. During the reporting period, the national WASH Cluster team conducted field visits to Jubaland and Galmudug to assess WASH needs related to drought and the 2025 Gu rains, while strengthening coordination with local partners. These missions helped guide response priorities based on emerging needs. In addition, the Cluster held coordination meetings at national and sub-national levels to improve planning and address operational challenges. A WASH Technical Working Group meeting in Garowe, Puntland, also took place, where partners updated the Strategic Operational Framework and finalized revisions to the WASH Toolkit to ensure alignment with evolving humanitarian priorities.