Galkayo (Somalia), June 15 -

'It is a new day for the people of Mudug'. These are the opening words of the Governor of Mudug Region, Mr. Daher Abdulkadir Ahmed, during the handover ceremony conducted by Relief International. The ceremony was held at the Governor's office and was attended by the Minister of Planning and International Relations, the Mayor of Galkayo, and UN-OCHA, as well as international organizations and the civil society at large.

'Hygiene and sanitation are among the most important components of personal and public health and thus so crucial to development', said the Minister of Planning and International Relations, Hon. Hassan Jibril, as he officially opened the ceremony that commenced with the recitation of the Quran. Over the last few years, there has been widespread acceptance in Puntland that poor hygiene and sanitation practices are posing a serious health challenge.

'Education is the foundation to build on when opting for development', stated Mr. Abdigani Jama, RI Programme Coordinator, as he went on to discuss the main objective of the current intervention funded by UN-OCHA: to reduce health risks associated with waterborne and hygiene related diseases, especially diarrhoea.

The humanitarian operating environment has also evolved over the last month, as the local authorities and the community have realized the importance of providing humanitarian access to the aid organizations. The UN-OCHA Representative, Mr. Mohamed Abdirahman, reminded everybody that '... although the presence and support of the United Nations is felt now, it could only increase if the security situation improves!'

Galkayo is a city with a population of about 250,000. As the city has little garbage-processing equipment, a huge amount of waste is left in its residential areas and shopping districts. The current environmental health intervention improves the sanitary situation, through enhancing the solid waste management capacity of the local authority: 1. it namely identified and dug a new site for landfill; 2. donated waste disposal equipment; and 3. Initiated and performed a city-wide waste removal campaign. Furthermore, it has trained community health promoters with the aim of equipping them with the knowledge and skills to teach their own communities about hygiene issues. These include personal and household hygiene, safe drinking water and the relationship between poor disposal of excreta and garbage and the spreading of diseases.

By Dr. Nasra Ali, Relief International, Environmental Health Programme, Programme Coordinator.