Water supply programme in Ethiopia small and medium towns

Some 35 million people in Ethiopia lacks access to clean water. In addition, 68% of the population have no access to proper sanitation facilities. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is still among the top three health risks contributing to more than 20% of death and disability and one of the key barriers to school attendance and enrolment particularly of girls in Ethiopia.
Water Resource Development Fund (WRDF) is a public entity under the Ministry of water and energy responsible for managing water utilities and supporting regions and towns through loan and grant provision.

The project aims to improve the living conditions of the Ethiopians by increasing access to drinking water in 48 secondary cities in Ethiopia. The project is co-financed with EIB, and AICS through establishing a revolving financial mechanism for the urban water and sanitation services. This financial mechanism is mostly a loan and matching fund contribution with the Government of Ethiopia. AFD also provides grant support with value of €1 million to support building the capacity of the Town water utilities. This project is aligned with the Government of Ethiopia’s initiatives to expand water supply access and ensure the quality of water and sustainability of services as well as the capacity of utilities.

The impact of this intervention is to improve public health, education and nutrition through the provision of sustainable, quality Water supply access that ensure sanitation and hygiene services for people of Ethiopia. The project targets 1.4 million people in 48 towns.