The World Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a US$205 million (R2.17 billion) International Development Association credit to help the government of Ethiopia increase access to clean drinking water and improve sanitation services.

The funds will support the Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Project (WASH), designed to contribute to meeting Ethiopia’s One WaSH National Program (OWNP) and Growth and Transformation targets of 100% access to water and 84% improvement in household latrines by 2015.

The project will focus on the poorest in the country, focusing equally on women and children who are typically responsible for fetching water for their families. It will finance the construction of approximately 6 300 rural water schemes, and rehabilitation and expansion of water supply systems for about 70 towns.  In addition the project will finance the improvement of water supply for health clinics and schools.

“The Government of Ethiopia has made steady progress in building a sustainable water system to provide access to clean water for many households,” says GuangZhe Chen, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia. “We are happy to support this project that will bring improved health and water security to the rural and urban poor in Ethiopia, contributing to the country’s rapid progress in meeting the millennium development goals related to water and sanitation access.”

SanyuLutalo, the World Bank co-Task Team Leader for the project, says the project builds upon the achievements of the recently completed Water Supply and Sanitation Project financed by the Government of Ethiopia, the British Department of International Development (DFID), and the World Bank, which contributed to a significant increase in access to sanitation.  “By so doing, the project will enhance the wellbeing of women and children, who often bear the burden of securing household water supply and the most severe consequences of poor sanitation and hygiene,” says Lutalo.