Africa-Press – Ethiopia. The World Bank and Ethiopia have agreed to work together in ensuring the country’s universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in Ethiopia.
Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and World Bank Eastern and Southern Africa Vice President Victoria Kwakwa have held discussion about accelerating Ethiopia’s WASH agenda on the sidelines of the Eastern and Southern Africa WASH Leadership Summit.
The discussion provided opportunity for both sides to review the progress of activities in their existing water portfolio and exploring additional areas for collaboration.
The goal is to translate the ideas discussed during the WASH Leadership Summit into concrete actions for Ethiopia, according to the ministry.
While Ethiopia has made significant progress in storing and managing ground and surface water resources as well as in providing WASH services nationwide, there are still millions of Ethiopians who lack access to these vital services.
This lack of access hinders poverty reduction efforts. Additionally, the financial need to meet the growing demand for basic water supply and sanitation is increasing, while domestic funding remains constrained.
The inadequate funding is further compounded by inefficiencies in existing investments, including operational inefficiencies such as water leakages and the failure of new water points in rural areas. These inefficiencies deplete the already scarce public resources.
To address the challenges, both sides committed to working together to ensure universal access to services.
Specifically, the parties agreed to collaborate in accelerating project implementation and maximize impact, particularly in existing World Bank-supported projects that enhance WASH service access, and build resilience to climate shocks and sustainability of WASH systems.
These projects focus on improving the management of water resources, groundwater, and floods, play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities across Ethiopia, particularly those affected by drought and floods.
The parties also agreed on the importance of institutional reforms and innovation as critical elements in attracting more funding, particularly from the private sector and development partners to broaden the pool of resources for WASH and increase its impact.
Finally, an agreement was reached to hold an Ethiopia-specific WASH conference.
The aim of the conference is to advance the dialogue and develop a concrete plan to translate the discussions on sustainable financing, private sector engagement, enhancing the regulatory framework, and ensuring universal access to WASH.
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