Why this Project is Important

Potential Long Term Impact

This project reduces the incidence of water- and sanitation-related diseases. Through a sustainable and safe water, sanitation and hygiene project, we improve the lives of entire communities.

Project Message

I used to travel a long distance, with water pot on my back, to fetch drinking water from a pond; but now, I fetch water that is clean and tastes good from my neighborhood.
- Wro Fantanesh, project beneficiary

Who is Running This Project

Contact

Peter Lochery,
Vice-Chair, MWA
151 Ellis Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
United States
(404) 979-9188
Email:

Project Sponsor

GlobalGiving

Organization

Learn more about Millennium Water Alliance and the project team.

Millennium Water Alliance's Funded Projects on GlobalGiving

Millennium Water Program in Ethiopia

Millennium Water Program in Kenya

Where this Project is Located

Country

This project is located in Ethiopia and can also be found under Health.

For more information about Ethiopia, read the Human Development Report on Ethiopia or the Wikipedia entry for Ethiopia.

When this Project was Updated

Last Updated

This project was last updated on September 10, 2007.

Date Added to GlobalGiving

This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on February 03, 2006.

Latest Update from the Field

Ethiopia report

By Millenium Water Alliance - Project organization, September 10, 2007 04:33 PM

The inhabitants of the project areas are predominantly rural, and face critical challenges in terms of access to safe water supply and hygiene and sanitation. Government employees assigned to work in the communities, including health workers, primary school teachers and development staff also experiences the same problems, particularly during the seasonal dry periods. This in turn has significantly affected the quality and quantity of government public services to the rural communities. For example, absence of safe water sources and sanitary facilities (particularly for girls) at schools results in low attendance and retention. While at health posts, the lack of water and poor sanitary conditions exacerbates incidences of disease.

In these Woredas, as in many rural areas of Ethiopia, the burden of fetching water for domestic and livestock consumption from distance sources is a time and labour consuming activity performed by women and school-aged children, usually girls. School enrolment rates for students, particularly girls, are critically hampered. Older school children, primarily girls, are required by their parents to shorten school attendance so that they can collect the family’s water from distant sources.

Moreover, residents have no choice but to use water from any source, regardless of its poor quality and unsafe sanitary conditions around the source. Ponds, puddles and rivers are often the only water sources for many households. Awareness of the linkage between water quality and health is quite low. The lack of water has had a dramatic impact on the health status of the communities. Families face the increased risk of water-related and water-borne diseases from unsafe water sources. Low awareness of personal hygiene and sanitation practices coupled with poor environmental health and a lack of water have worsened and complicated their health status, particularly on children.

The major stakeholders in this program are government respective offices of Water, Health, Education, Woreda and kebele Administration, women and youth groups and Water and Sanitation committee.

Please click below to read the full report with more information on the work in Ethiopia including project status, challenges, and future plans.

Attachments:

• Ethiopia report

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