Local governments play a crucial role in providing essential services to children. In both urban and rural surroundings, they can connect girls and boys to nutritious food, clean water, quality education, sanitation, and other services that prevent them from falling into poverty.

In Somaliland, through the UN Joint Programme on Local Governance (JPLG), UNICEF has, since 2014, bolstered the capacity of eight targeted districts on service delivery through a model based on social accountability and civic engagement. This has strengthened local ownership and many of the districts have increased their investment in education and health services from local revenues.

“For the first time, we have been empowered to take action and help our own people. I’ve witnessed how critical it is to invest in providing light and water to health centers. With power and clean water, women can deliver safely. It means that with our own inputs, and our partners’ support, we can save lives,” said Khader Yusuf Ali, Director of Social Affairs, Hargeisa district. “These positive results have encouraged us to invest more in delivering social services and in the future I’m hopeful we can take over the health facilities and run them,” he noted.