Recently, the African Development Bank Group and Ethiopia signed loan and grant agreements to the tune of US $5.6 million on Wednesday for additional resources to Ethiopia’s One Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Program. This loan is to help the areas affected by drought in the country.
Many Children and adults in Ethiopia have been reported dead as a result of drought in some parts of the country. Jennifer Blanke, Vice-President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development, AfDB, said:
“These additional resources, at this juncture, are a clear demonstration of the AfDB’s commitment to support the efforts of the Ethiopian Government in improving the quality of life of people and sustainable inclusive development.”
It was also reported that the program includes mechanisms to significantly boost livelihoods and resilience to climate change in the affected communities. In a way, water scarcity in the affected drought areas will be made available for use.
In addition, the One Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Program seeks to improve access to water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia. It was stated that about 3 million people will benefit with access to water supply and sanitation facilities.
The program actually complements the initial funding of US $91 million extended to Ethiopia for the same project in September 2014. This fund was practically exhausted as some particular areas still continue to experience drought.
Also, Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation, Abraham Tekese, commended the Bank for its quick response and reaction to the drought affecting the region. He further said that the situation was almost getting out of hand which could eventually affect the growth and development of the nation.
In order to tackle the effects of drought in the affected areas, the program envisages the construction and rehabilitation of 7,805 schemes. It estimates that 3 million people will get access to water supply and sanitation facilities. The project will be executed in all the nine regions of the country, across 177 districts where there are shortages of water which has affected the health of rural people. The program is also set to address the lack of water and poor sanitation and proffer possible solutions. Also, it will address the problem of diseases caused by water shortage such as typhoid and amoebic dysentery and prescribe how such diseases can be prevented.
It has been confirmed that Ethiopians in rural areas are fond of searching through miles for water meant for domestic use and for livestock. In the dry seasons, in particular, it becomes worst as people cover long distances (over 5 kilometres) to locate a water area.
In order to assist Ethiopians overcome the water related problems, Africa Development Bank, AfDB has decided to loan the country some tangible amount of money in order to curb the problem of water shortage and finally to save Ethiopians.
