As part of the Somalia Community-Driven Recovery and Development project, or CDRD, more than 30 communities in selected districts of Somaliland and Puntland are assessing their development priorities, analyzing resources, designing interventions, developing action plans and evaluating success.

The CDD Approach in Somalia

The project uses the community-driven development, or CDD, approach which allows communities in poverty-affected areas to determine how government and international donor funding will be spent on their needs. The communities receive and manage resources to carryout projects, and the role of external partners becomes one of facilitator.

“This project was different from what we were used to,” said Ali Roble, a resident of Tulli Village, one of the CDRD’s beneficiary communities. “In the past, agencies would come for one day, talk to the elders, leave and come back with a project.”
The CDRD project, according to Roble, took another approach. “This project engaged us in a very extensive dialogue,” he said.

“The facilitators stayed with us for more than a month. It helped us understand each other and our problems better.”
Villagers in Roble’s community have been able to develop an action plan outlining their primary needs. Today, the community has built one cement, water-storage pool for storing water and has started work on a second one. Tulli’s most vulnerable members also now receive free medical care.

Local Projects Flourishing

In Abdal, a village in the Berbera district, the project has facilitated the development of a market. “We have built this market place as a community,” said Fatima Musa, a local meat seller.

In Ceelbaxay Village, residents determined that an irrigation project would be most helpful. “My production has increased by 50 percent,” local farmer Mahmoud Said said proudly.

Residents of Sheik Makahil decided improvements to the local school were needed, including the expansion of classrooms. “Before the other classes were built, we used to come to school in three shifts,” said student Abdarahman Muhumed. “Some of us came at eight in the morning, others at 10 and yet others at 12 pm. We were many in a class, but now we are 23.”

In addition to supporting the development of bottom-up governance, through the transfer of knowledge and capacity to local governments, who then are expected to take over the function and responsibility of developing their communities, the CDRD also is empowering women, who are now more involved in the decision-making process.

“As women, we realized that it is in our interest to participate in the development of the community since we equally have a role to play,” said Maimuna Adan Gelle, a member of the Tulli Community Development Committee. “And, that it is only through our participation that our interests can be included in the community priorities.”

Good results Lead to Expansion

The World Bank piloted the CDRD project in 2006 as part of its reengagement with the Somali government. The project has benefited 30 communities providing them with grants averaging US$20,000 each. Two windows of funding are available to local municipalities: community block grants, aimed at increasing the supply-side of services, and social services access grants, aimed at boosting the demand-side. Communities use block grants to build health posts, primary schools, markets, vocational training centers, rain-fed water reservoirs, community toilets, micro irrigation systems, micro water systems, and to support micro-enterprises. They use social service access grants to support their most vulnerable members; targeted beneficiaries receive cash for drugs, medical exams, basic surgery, disability equipment or school fees.

Despite challenges, including low capacity levels in some communities and political insecurity, the first 30 communities supported by the CDRD have successfully implemented their subprojects and will soon receive another round of grants. An additional 30 communities in the Somaliland and Puntland regions also will receive grants through the project. The World Bank also will expand the program to an additional 25 communities in the south-central region of Somalia where a recent peace agreement has eased instability.