The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has launched another energy project designed to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods through promoting accessible, cost-effective and environmentally sound energy services for the people of Somaliland, Somalia.

The project, which is known as facilitating Somaliland’s Energy Policy Dialogue (SEPD) will have its main project office in Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland, with the specific objective of facilitating the development of an energy policy and regulatory framework document for Somaliland through working with non-state actors (NSA).

The SEPD project places a high priority on access to improved energy services to households and businesses leading to improved livelihoods. In Somaliland currently, energy supply to most businesses, urban schools, health facilities and households is limited to diesel generator sets and kerosene which are relatively expensive and polluting. This affects the profitability and/or financial viability of commercial and social activities of businesses, institutions and households. Thus for any meaningful structured and sustained socio-economic development to take place in Somaliland, an elaborate guiding energy policy and regulatory framework is integral.

This energy project runs from February 2006 to December 2006 and targets the civil society including women groups, ministry of Commerce and Industry and the private sector, which are classified as non-state actors. It will have 191 direct beneficiaries and 3,000 indirect ones. The indirect beneficiaries will be reached through media campaigns and later, it is anticipated, the entire population of Somaliland will be reached, benefiting a total of 3,300,000 people.

The project, which is valued at nearly US$120,000, is funded primarily by the European Union, in partnership with the ADRA office in Somalia.

ADRA Somalia has been operating in Somalia since 1992 implementing emergency relief and development interventions in different sectors. Since then, ADRA has managed over 50 projects funded by different donors in 8 sectors namely: water; primary health care; education; food security; infrastructure; institutional capacity building; micro-enterprise development and emergency response interventions. ADRA is present in 125 countries around the world providing individual and community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, or ethnicity.

Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org