Country: Ethiopia | Partners: Government of Ethiopia, town water utilities, WASH committees, health, education institutions, private sector; Salomon Consultants (Mozambique), World Vision Ethiopia, Open University UK, WSUP and private sector contractors | Client: UNICEF Ethiopia |Donors: UK Aid + Brattish Embassy | Duration: 2014-2020.
Published on: 01/01/2014
From July 2014 to December 2020, IRC supported UNICEF and partners in monitoring and assessing the impacts of an ambitious programme in Ethiopia.
The ONEWASH PLUS programme, with funding from the UK Department for International Development (later the British Embassy), aimed to fill potential gaps in the One WASH National Programme and specifically to address the enormous challenge of improving WASH service provision in small towns in Ethiopia. Small towns were, and still are a concern and a strategic focus for a number of reasons: there is rapid population growth in these settlements, these centres are vital markets and homes for small-scale business, there have been limited efforts to date to improve WASH services in small towns as compared to rural areas or major cities, there are lower institutional capacities in small town municipalities and town water utilities, and there is potential for serious disease outbreaks and negative health impacts.
The ONEWASH PLUS programme addressed critical gaps related to governance, private sector engagement, climate risks, equity, enabling environment for integrated WASH services delivery and human resources capacity. It introduced and tested innovations in integrated WASH service delivery in small towns and surrounding 'satellite' villages including the construction of new infrastructure and development of new management and other institutional arrangements. On the basis of new evidence, the programme influenced policy and support the development of capacities at a national scale through the One WASH National Programme (OWNP). The programme includes eight intervention towns in four regions: Amhara, Tigray, Oromia and Somali regions.
Key implementing partners in the ONEWASH PLUS programme were Salomon Consultants from Mozambique for infrastructure ('hardware') studies, designs and supervision, World Vision Ethiopia and the Open University from the UK for 'software' studies, interventions and capacity building, WSUP for work on urban sanitation strategy development, and IRC for independent monitoring and knowledge management activities. Private sector contractors were involved to build new infrastructure.
Key beneficiary institutions of the programme included Town Water Utilities, WASH committees in surrounding peri-urban areas, health, education and other institutions, woredas and local private sector business through both better services and expanded roles in service delivery and related supply chains. Critical partners included the main WASH ministries being Water, Health, Education and Finance, as well as the Ministry of Urban Development and Construction, the Water Resources Development Fund (a revolving fund mechanism which will benefit from cost recovery from Town Water Utilities), four regional governments and woreda governments.
Ultimately the programme intended to improve the health, well-being and productivity of people within the targeted small towns and peri-urban areas and more widely (nationwide) through its influencing of the OWNP and capacity building efforts.
Some 50 representatives from towns and regional bureaus participated in the small-town WASH symposium on 3 December at the GetFam hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They were joined online by some 30 stakeholders from national and international level during the morning session, focussed on... Read more...
Half of all school girls lack information on menstrual hygiene management (MHM). Raising awareness about a basic fact of humanity is the point of World Menstrual Hygiene Management day. Read more...
Partners in the ONEWASH Plus Programme - all working to find new ways to deliver integrated WASH infrastructure and services in small towns - came together to share progress and learn lessons. Read more...
Innovative new contracting arrangement piloted in eight towns in Ethiopia combining infrastructure development and capacity building for town water utilities. Read more...
A Learning Seminar on Monitoring for Sustainability was organized by IRC with the One WaSH National Program, UNICEF, COWASH Project and Aguaconsult on 9th August 2016 at Getfam Hotel, Addis Ababa. Read more...
A Learning Seminar on Monitoring for Sustainability organised by IRC with the One WaSH National Program, UNICEF, COWASH Project and Aguaconsult will be held on 9th August 2016 at Getfam Hotel, Addis Ababa. Read more...
Will Ethiopia's big economic push raise the country out of poverty? And will everyone in the country have water, sanitation and hygiene services in the coming years? Read more...
The Multi-Stakeholder Forum - popularly know as the MSF - is the key annual WaSH sector event in Ethiopia. At the end of 2015, the One WaSH National Program was again in the spotlight. Read more...
Focus of this years Forum 'Priority for One WaSH National Program'. Read more...
On the 23 April 2015, a technical discussion was held at the Jupiter hotel in Addis Ababa to debate the findings of a study "Private Sector Landscape for WASH in Ethiopia – Bottlenecks and opportunities" commissioned by UNICEF and undertaken by IRC within the scope of the DFID-funded One WASH Plus... Read more...
Since commencing activities in July 2014, studies are now well underway including a baseline study covering 16 small towns and research on bottlenecks to private sector engagement in WASH. Read more...
Access to water and sanitation is a basic human right. No one, whatever their circumstances, should be forced to live in conditions where these services are not made available. And yet this is the case for many inmates in overcrowded prisons around the world. Read more...
A new guideline seeks to professionalise the management of multi-village water supplies in Ethiopia Read more...
Climate resilient WASH is about new ways of working across the traditional humanitarian and development sectors. We went to one of the harshest spots in Ethiopia, and surely in the world, to find out more. Read more...
Under severe conditions of water scarcity, it is vital to keep motorised boreholes pumping across Ethiopia's Somali region. Read more...
Solid waste management has become a big challenge in Jijiga, the capital city of Ethiopia's Somali National Regional State. Read more...
The purpose of this technical paper is to present a value for money analysis of the ONEWASH Plus Programme in eight towns in Ethiopia. The analysis... Read more...
Addressing inequalities by improving access to WASH services for vulnerable groups; introducing social water tariffs for the vulnerable; involving... Read more...
While a high proportion of people In Ethiopian have access to improved water and sanitation services, only a small minority receive services that... Read more...
Harmonizing institutionalized monitoring, national benchmarks, improving the data culture and acting upon monitoring results will be essential in... Read more...
Systems approaches are ongoing processes which take time and require multiple levels of action, both at local as well as at regional and national... Read more...
The ONEWASH Plus Programme (first phase: 2013 to 2019) focused on WASH services in small towns, satellite villages and institutions (health... Read more...
Take a systems approach to capacity building involving government, communities, the private sector, CSOs, educational institutes and women. Read more...
Behaviour change is not sufficient in itself to improve health and livelihoods, nor is construction, improving accountability, training, capacity... Read more...
Water-related emotional distress is predominantly associated with the 'cost of water' and the 'size of household'. Read more...
This publication has been produced by IRC as part of its independent monitoring and knowledge management services to the ONEWASH Plus programme. The... Read more...
This paper presents findings on water and sanitation service levels from 16 small and medium towns in four regions of Ethiopia. Read more...
This learning note includes estimates for capital expenditure and direct and indirect costs. Read more...
Physical works are progressing well in most small towns. Major challenges are water sources in Abomsa, and acquisition of land for sludge drying beds... Read more...
The latest experiences in monitoring for sustainability, and next steps for the wider use of relevant tools within the Consolidated WaSH Account (CWA... Read more...
The learning note is about an innovative new contracting arrangement that combines infrastructure development and capacity building for town water... Read more...
Data was collected on household income, diarrhoeal disease occurrence, water service provision, and sanitation and hygiene services and practices at... Read more...