27 000 People to benefit from Multiple Village Clean Water Supply Project in Tigray

EBO, RAYA AZEBO WOREDA, TIGRAY.- The Ebo clean water project, with a total cost of 20 million Ethiopian Birr, is a unique project as it not only demonstrates how investments in long term sustainable water supplies can reduce the carbon emissions from water trucks, but also contributes to making Ethiopian towns and villages greener and healthier for women and children. The project shows how resilient water supply solutions can be implemented in areas where there is low average rainfall and difficult hydrological conditions. In addition, it is 70 per cent cheaper than water trucking which has been the practice previously in the villages.

The Regional Government of Tigray and the woreda Administration of Raya Azebo actively partnered with UNICEF Ethiopia to undertake a detailed technical groundwater assessment to locate deep groundwater which could be exploited for this water supply scheme. UNICEF also called on its large national and international expertise to provide high technical support and mobilised funds from UNICEF Germany to finance the construction of the entire water supply scheme.

Inaugurating the project, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, H.E Ato Alemayehu Tegenu said, “We went to every corner of the possible system to make the voice of water and sanitation heard. And to promote synergies between all those whose mandate mattered to water. Now, our country has made tremendous progress over the past decade in the water and sanitation sectors and lowered the incidence of water-borne diseases significantly. We now have the opportunity to witness such a breakthrough, made possible through the committed effort of the government, development partners, NGOs, the private sector and the community. Raya Azebo Multiple Village Clean Water Supply Project in Tigray region is one of the exemplary project, providing the community with reliable access to safe water.”

UNICEF Ethiopia Representative a.i. Ms. Anupma Rao Singh said, “UNICEF will increase its technical and financial support to the water supply and sanitation sector in the Tigray Region. We also reaffirm our commitment to finance another 3 multiple village water supply schemes similar to the Ebo scheme with the aim of alleviating the burden of water collection for tens of thousands of women and children in the Tigray region.”

Ethiopia has made substantial progress in improving access to water supply and sanitation coverage since 1990. The recent National WASH Inventory data helps to confirm that, with the 2015 prediction of 57 per cent water supply coverage, Ethiopia is well on track to meet the water target of halving the 86 per cent of the population without water. The completion of such cost-effective schemes is an indication that the country is now heading into innovative approaches to address people especially the hard to reach areas who are without access to safe water services.

Ministry of Water Irrigation and Energy

For further information, please contact:

Tesfalem Hadgu, Deputy Office Head and Core Process Owner of Water Supply, Tigray Region Water Resource Bureau, Tel: +251 0914 179 156

Bizuneh Tolcha, Director, Public Relation and Communication Directorate,

Ministry of Water Irrigation and Energy, Tel +251 116 626324

Wossen Mulatu, Communication Officer, UNICEF Ethiopia,

Tel.: +251 115 184028, Mobile: +251 911 308483