Water Markets, Cash and Drought Resilience in Somaliland

This learning brief looks Cash to Access Water (CAW) in Somaliland. Water markets exist, and they exist everywhere. In Somaliland, these markets are the ‘first responders’ to critical water needs during severe dry seasons and droughts. For decades, humanitarian agencies have been focusing on the use of humanitarian led water trucking to meet critical water needs instead of focusing on how to support sustainable, quality water market in contexts of re-occurring drought. Water market assessments led by Oxfam have found that communities serviced by humanitarian water trucking often already have water markets in place for the buying and selling of water locally. Humanitarian led water trucking can disrupt and work against these existing markets. This has driven Oxfam to look for alternative solutions that support and strengthen existing water markets.

This brief provides an overview of the water markets and Oxfam’s response to using markets and community cash grants to support more sustainable and resilient water markets within highly vulnerable communities.