Aid/Sustainable Development Case Study - WaterAid

WaterAid in Ethiopia

Ethiopia are the fouth largest and second most populous country in Africa. It is also Africa's oldest independent country. Well known for its periodic droughts, famine, and for its long civil war and subsequent border conflict with Eritrea. Some development indicators of Ethiopia are:

Population :  80.7m

Infant mortality: 109/1000

Child deaths from diarrhoea per annum: $55,000

Average life expectancy:  55 years

Water supply coverage: 38%

Sanitation coverage: 12%

Below poverty line: 44%

Adult literacy: 36%

Aim: Improve the livelihoods of poor people in Ethiopia though the provisionof safe water, sanitation and hygiene education using technolgies that are appropriate to local conditions, affordable and easy to maintain.

Started funding projects in 1983 and began working through established non-governmental organisations in 1986.

Work closely with eight local NGOs, the local private sector and local/regional government departments in water, sanitation and hygiene projects

Main technologies in Amhara and Tigray have been hand-dug wells and WaterAid are testing simpler and cheaper rope pumps.

Supporting the construction and use of latrines for both households and institutions (schools)

Hygience education has increasingly focused on the close links between proper hand-washing at critical times. Hoping to reduce the numbers of young children that die from diarrhoeal diseases

In all cases:

• WaterAid works closely with communities from the start to raise awareness of how water and sanitation impact on disease and poverty
• Communities are actively involved in planning, building, managing and evaluation of projects
• Particular attention is now being paid to engaging women in projects
• Increasing the ways in which the poorest and most marginalised in society can be supported

• Communcation systems are still poor 
• Road coverage is one of the worst in the world. Partner organisations spend money to build access roads, rather on aid to help the people.
• These are problems in both the remote regions, and the capital Addis Ababa.

Helped over 820,000 people gain access to safe water

Helped establish the local NGO Water Action

Influenced the development of water projects managed by community boards and is seen as the main proponent of large sustainable gravity flow water schemes in the country.

Coordinated WASH Ethiopia - A country-wide water, snaitation and hygiene movement linked to the international Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council

Helped set up and now hosts the Ethiopian Country Water Partnership

Piloted rope pumps and composting latrines