The Sahil Region (Sahil) is one of the six regions in the Republic of Somaliland. Its capital is Berbera. It is bordered by Gulf of Aden and the Somaliland regions of Waqooyi Galbeed, Sanaag, Togdheer and Awdal. Berbera is located 2 hours drive from Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland. Berbera is a coastal city (Red Sea) in the northwestern part of Somaliland, the Sahil region. Berbera is also a seaport, with the only sheltered harbor on the south side of the Gulf of Aden; its population is approximately 30,000 compared to 100,000 in 1980s. Located strategically on the oil route, Berbera has a deep-sea port, completed in 1969. The port, which was the capital of British Somaliland until 1941, is the terminus of roads from Hargeisa and Burco, and an international airport now adds to its accessibility. Berbera exports sheep, gum Arabic, frankincense, and myrrh. Its seaborne trade is chiefly with Gulf Countries to the north. Since the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, it has grown as a major export port for Ethiopia, and is now the main source of foreign currency for Somaliland. The city is also home to a runway, built as an emergency landing strip (longest strip in Africa) for the U.S. Space Shuttle emergency landing.

The Sahil region is losing ground economically when compared to other regions in Somaliland and consequently many people are very worried about this. Although Sahil region has a lot of potentials to form the economical capital in the country. It Concerns about low unemployment, low investments, lack of business developments and loss of potential workforce are just of few of the issues.

Here are few facts about Sahil Region

1.  More than 73% of the population lives in poverty and 43% in

    extremepoverty and unemployment are widespread.

2. there are only 4 doctors and 20 nurses in Sahil Region

3. The GDP per head is $226 a head per year. If this figure is divided 

    by 365days, one can clearly see that people are living on below $1

     a day.

    More than 88% of the population has no access to healthcare.

4. 1 out of 4 of the children dies before the age of five

5.  Women are 22 times more likely to die in childbirth than European 

    women are.

6.  Only 15% primary school enrolment, that is, 85% of children in

     Sahil Region are not in school and almost has no education.

7.  Adult literacy is 25%, and 75% of adults cannot read or write. 

8.  Berbera drinking water sources contain unknown chemicals that

     resulted local people frequently suffer from kidney problems than

     any other region of Somaliland and contains between 8 -9 PH in

     urine tests performed.

9. Average life expectancy is 47 years for men and women (compared

     to 75years in UK).

10. All the other cities of Somaliland even the smaller towns are under

     high rate of urbanization while Berbera is loosing social

      infrastructure.

11. Berbera is one of the cities least recovered from past wars and

      conflicts

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