Since 1991, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been helping the people of Somalia to recover from years of conflict while setting the country on the path to development.

UNDP’s strategy in Somalia focuses on making progress towards peace and meeting people’s humanitarian and recovery needs by addressing gender issues, boosting access to social services, improving livelihoods, reducing poverty, promoting good governance and improving human security.

Access to some parts of the country remains extremely difficult due to the fragile security situation. To address this challenge, UNDP works with the Government, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups to reach communities in all regions of the country.

Highlights

• Responding to crisis: More than 70,000 people benefited from UNDP-rehabilitated infrastructure, including 80 wells capable of storing 380 million litres of water (equivalent to 152 Olympic-sized swimming pools); 94 kilometres of road; 25 km of canals; 18,000 newly planted trees; and various markets, hospitals and schools.
• Poverty reduction: Provision of short-term employment to 4,965 people, including 2,785 women and 2,453 IDPs, creating over 147,608 workdays between January and September 2012.
• Governance and rule of law: Legal aid is now available outside regional capitals, thanks to UNDP support in setting up mobile courts, making it much easier for citizens to access justice. In 2011, 1,236 people accessed legal aid services to resolve disputes in Puntland, as well as 6,403 in Somaliland and 692 in south central Somalia.
• Gender: Somaliland’s first-ever female prosecutors were appointed in 2010, and in 2012 four women were appointed as Deputy Attorney-Generals. All women completed law degrees thanks to UNDP scholarships.