Skip to main content
South Ari

Ethiopia

Access to WASH facilities in Ethiopia is increasing, but services are not yet consistently sustained. We are committed to supporting our partner districts, Mille and South Ari, in providing sustainable WASH services to everyone.

Our office in Ethiopia is based in Addis Ababa, the capital. Our team of 19 is led by Country Director Lemessa Mekonta. We believe the core of providing safe and sustainable WASH services to everyone by 2030 lies in building the local and national systems. Creating and enabling these systems asks for firm and decisive national leadership from beyond WASH. At IRC Ethiopia, we spend our effort working within the WASH system – with ministries of water and health; with regional bureaus of water and health; with district water and health offices; with community based WASH COs (committees); with private service providers and others – to strengthen collective action that drives change, which results in bringing sustainable WASH for the people.

Population partner districts: 279,574 South Ari & 117,960 Mille | Water coverage: 13% South Ari & 16% Mille (Based on JMP indicators)

Through our USAID Sustainable WASH Systems (SWS) Learning Partnership, we are working to strengthen rural and small town water supply systems in two partner woredas (districts) Mille (Afar) and South Ari (SNNPR). With our partners in the Millennium Water Alliance (MWA), we are supporting development of district master plans for SDG 6 in three woredas in Amhara region. Through our partnership in the USAID Transform WASH Project, we are working on sanitation market development for improved sanitation. At the national level, we are supporting with knowledge management.

South Ari and Mille districts

In Mille and South Ari, we are working with water service providers, local government, non-governmental organisations and academic organisations to ensure access to effective WASH services to everyone in the districts. We work with local actors through learning alliances. In the learning alliances, local stakeholders develop understanding of their WASH service delivery system and execute a shared learning and action agenda. We expect that locally driven innovation will result in better solutions to challenges and changes that increase the sustainability of WASH services and deliver services to everyone by 2030.

In all our work we strive to influence those in power to take WASH seriously and to engage in systems strengthening.

A quick guide to IRC in Ethiopia

"I am Martha Mengesha, Cashier of the Arkisha Kebele, South Ari Woreda, SNNPR Water Users Association; I have a stake in the WASH Systems!"

 Martha Mengesha, Arkisha Kebele WUA member

At IRC WASH Ethiopia, we believe working with government and community based associations and federations at all levels is vital to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IRC WASH Ethiopia is registered under the Ethiopia Civil Society Organisations Proclamation No. 1113/2019 as a foreign organisation named "IRC WASH" with registration number 4174. 

IRC WASH focuses on both rural and urban WASH through a variety of partnerships with government and non-governmental organisations. In rural WASH we focus on strengthening the WASH systems in 7 woredas across 5 regions. At national and regional levels we support and strengthen monitoring for up to date information for planning and maintenance. We are a leading provider of knowledge management services.

 Like us on Facebook - IRCWASHethiopia and follow us on Twitter - IRC Ethiopia 

read more

DIY water supplies

Self-supply, or families investing in their own water supplies, needs to be better supported if we're to achieve universal access.

read more

WASH news and events

Participants around a table during group discussion

WASH systems context analysis conducted in two Ethiopian districts

IRC signed a consultancy agreement with Aguaconsult to conduct a WASH systems context analysis of...
Participants completing the online course as part of the training

Testing the WASH Systems Academy’s blended learning approach in Ethiopia

IRC WASH Ethiopia gave a nine-day Training of Trainers (ToT) to the Ethiopian Water Technology...
Sanitation products for sale in Wore Illu Woreda

Strengthening WASH businesses in Ethiopia – tariffs and taxes on sanitation products

Taxes and tariffs imposed on sanitation products significantly increase the cost of the product and...
Making a toilet slab in Ethiopia

USAID Transform WASH – Learning notes overview

This is an overview of learning notes produced for the USAID Transform WASH project.
Women fetching water in Ethiopia

IRC Ethiopia’s response to the pandemic

IRC Ethiopia is working to adapt programming and engage in line with the COVID-19 response
Participants at the SWS woreda workshop in Ethiopia

The road to a robust system

Supporting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) planning in three pilot woredas in Ethiopia.
Making latrine slabs in Ethiopia

A quick insight into IRC Ethiopia’s country strategy

The IRC WASH team in Ethiopia believes it is vital and urgent to strengthen the systems that...
Delegate from Ethiopia at IRC WASH symposium

Highlights from our focus countries in 2019: Ethiopia

What impact did we have in our focus countries in 2019? Sharing highlights from IRC’s Annual Report...

Blogs, podcasts, opinions and more

A trainer demonstrating the process of producing liquid soap in laboratory setting

A market-based approach to curb the COVID-19 pandemic

Lessons from the WASH First COVID-19 Response Project equipping youths with marketable skills in Negelle Arsi and Shashamane districts.
Silafrica's introduction of AIM plastic latrine slab manufacturing in Ethiopia

What it takes to build a sanitation market: USAID Transform WASH and the plastic toilet slab in Ethiopia

Introducing the plastic toilet slab to the Ethiopian market takes time, patience and tenacity as the USAID Transform WASH project experiences.
A camel and cattle on the banks of water body, Somali region, Ethiopia

Systems thinking for WASH in chronic crises: lessons from Ethiopia

Sharing lessons learnt from Somali region around systems thinking in WASH and collaboration between organisations in the humanitarian-development-...
USAID Transform WASH is supporting local manufacturing and distribution of hand washing stations

Small business and WASH in the age of coronavirus

Since the coronavirus began spreading throughout the world, few things have been unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our activities to develop...
Assefash Tadesse, sanitation entrepreneur

How an 8th grade dropout sanitation entrepreneur is saving lives

Becoming a sanitation entrepreneur against the odds in Ethiopia.
Photo: John Butterworth

Sitting on a gold mine

A team representing government and NGOs from Ethiopia joined a visit to Ghana to learn about planning for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals...

Resources

Public finance and accountability with Carlene van der Westhuizen & Catarina Fonseca
Authors: Westhuizen, C. van der, Fonseca, C.
Published: 07/2018
Pages: podcast (21 min : 17 sec)
Women as business leaders
Authors: Mebrate, E.
Published: 10/2020
Pages: 12 p.
An assessment of sanitation financing options for enterprises and households
Authors: Gutema, G., Osterwalder, L.
Published: 10/2020
Pages: 15 p. : 2 boxes, 2 fig.
IRC annual report 2019
Authors: IRC
Published: 06/2020
Pages: 19 p. : boxes, fig., photogr.
IRC WASH strategy : 2017-21 Ethiopia : building WASH systems to deliver the Sustainable...
Authors: IRC WASH Ethiopia
Published: 09/2018
Pages: 24 p. : 3 fig. : 5 tab.