• Djibouti receives a $35 million grant to expand rural access to drinking water
• The project will benefit over 120,000 people and strengthen climate resilience
• It is part of a broader regional program addressing water stress in East Africa

A $35 million grant from the World Bank will support efforts to expand access to drinking water in rural areas of Djibouti, where water scarcity remains severe.

Announced on March 16 in Washington, the funding will finance the Groundwater Resilience and Water Supply Project (DJIRESA), which focuses on building and rehabilitating water infrastructure.

The project is expected to directly benefit about 127,000 people in rural areas, while improving climate resilience for around 167,000 others.

Beyond infrastructure, the program places emphasis on sustainability. It includes measures to professionalize the management and maintenance of water systems, which often suffer from weak technical oversight in rural areas.

Institutional capacity will also be strengthened, particularly within the rural water department. Plans include the creation of regional offices and targeted training programs, as well as the development of a national groundwater information system linked to a regional platform managed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The initiative is part of a broader $455 million regional program covering Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. IGAD will coordinate the effort and receive additional funding to improve data sharing and cross-border water resource management.

The project comes as climate change intensifies water and food security challenges across East Africa. In Ethiopia, around 22 million people face food insecurity. In Kenya, drought has devastated crops and livestock, while in Somalia, continued rainfall shortages could push an additional one million people into crisis, raising the total to 4.4 million.

Djibouti faces acute water stress, with renewable water resources estimated at just 185 cubic meters per person per year—well below the absolute scarcity threshold of 500 cubic meters, according to the World Bank. The situation is worsened by climate change, with more frequent droughts, floods, and rising salinity in groundwater.

The impact is especially severe in rural areas, where only 47% of the population has access to basic drinking water services, compared with 83% in urban areas.

According to Djibouti’s 2025 Country Climate and Development Report, the economic cost of climate change could reach 6% of GDP by mid-century, equivalent to nearly four years of current economic output, or between $14 billion and $15 billion.

The country also faces broader risks affecting livelihoods, including water insecurity, pressures on pastoral systems, and increasing exposure to extreme heat.

Carelle Yourann (intern)