sustainability Article WASH Financial and Social Investment Dynamics in a Conflict-Arid District of Jariban in Somalia Wonder Mafuta * , Jethro Zuwarimwe and Marizvikuru Mwale   Citation: Mafuta, W.; Zuwarimwe, J.; Mwale, M. WASH Financial and Social Investment Dynamics in a Conflict-Arid District of Jariban in Somalia. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4836. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094836 Academic Editor: Jennifer Martínez-Ferrero Received: 31 December 2020 Accepted: 5 February 2021 Published: 26 April 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Institute of Rural Development, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa; jethro.zuwarimwe@univen.ac.za (J.Z.); marizvikuru.manjoro@univen.ac.za (M.M.) * Correspondence: 18022837@mvula.univen.ac.za or mafutawonder@yahoo.com Abstract: The paper investigated the social and financial resources’ interface in WASH programmes for vulnerable communities. Nineteen villages were randomly selected from the Jariban district in Somalia using the random number generator based on the village list. Data was collected in a sequential methodology that started with transect walks to observe and record the WASH in- frastructure. Thirty-eight focus group discussions and desktop reviews triangulated transact walk recordings. The findings indicate minimum to zero investments towards WASH infrastructure in Jariban from the state government, with more dependency on the donor community. The study revealed that resources for the construction of latrines and water sources come from the following sources, NGOs (54.3%), diaspora community (34.5%) and community contributions (11.2%). The findings revealed a backlog in the WASH infrastructure, resulting in low access to water supply and sanitation services. The results demonstrate limited resource allocation by both the government and community, affecting the WASH infrastructure’s sustainability and further development. Due to the backlog in investments, particularly on improved latrines, it is concluded that their usage is low and a hindrance to having access to sanitation, hygiene and water as per the SDG goals, of leaving no one behind. While investment towards WASH in Jariban demonstrates multiple potential sources, there is a need to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and explore governments’ role and capacity to secure WASH infrastructure investments. It is also recommended to explore how to tax the remittances to fund WASH infrastructure development and the private sector’s role in WASH infrastructure investment. Keywords: community participation; diaspora funding; investments; resource mobilisation 1. Introduction The 2030 agenda for sustainable development emphasised the need for private and public institutions and the local communities to partner for improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) service processes [1]. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6B stresses the need to support and strengthen local communities’ involvement in improving water and sanitation management. The strategy by which SDG 6 can be achieved are spelt out in SDG17 and include financing and capacity building [1]. When national governance structures are weak, gaining buy-ins from beneficiary com- munities and other interest groups is incredibly important. Somalia remains fragmented and cannot deliver WASH services due to the failed state system and limited policy guide- lines. The downfall of the Siad Barre regime in 1990 resulted in a statistical vacuum [2], as the Central Bank stopped operations. The collapse of the Central Bank operations and associated statistics government departments in 1991 inherently resulted in systematic lack of investment data, thereby compromising the financial design and implementation of policies and programmes related to WASH [3,4]. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and donors came in to fill the humanitarian space, support state-building efforts and deliver WASH services. However, the focus is financial, with less emphasis on social Sustainability 2021, 13, 4836. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094836 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability