Bringing clean drinking water and sanitation to schools in Addis Ababa
Through Project WISE (WASH in Schools for Everyone), our delivery partner Splash aims to transform WASH conditions at 100% of public schools in four cities in Ethiopia, serving one million children and providing an affordable, proven and replicable model for national coverage for all schools and all students. The first city in the program is Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia – and we’re delighted to be working with them to transform WASH solutions in six schools across the capital.
Coffee is Ethiopia’s main export commodity, contributing to the livelihood of over 15 million Ethiopians in both rural and urban environments. Addis is a critical link in the country’s coffee supply chain and a major hub for coffee exchange and exportation. Rapid population growth in the capital has put additional pressure on the city’s water and sanitation infrastructure, which is already strained and inadequate, especially for the large population living in city slums.
Schools are a platform for influencing and communicating norms, modelling rights and responsibilities and providing a space for community development, not just for students but also for adults – government administrators, parents, teachers and staff who are invested in their success.
Investing in clean water and sanitation facilities for schools leads to a reduction in absenteeism as well as a reduction in water related illnesses. Having safe and usable toilet facilities at school also benefits young girls during menstruation who may otherwise have to stay at home during their period, missing vital parts of the school curriculum.
Project Waterfall has been working with local delivery partner Splash since 2014 in an effort to make sure all schools in Ethiopia’s capital city – Addis Ababa – have access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education.
Our intervention consists of six pillars: water, sanitation, hygiene, behavior change and menstrual health. We’ll be unpacking these in more detail in the coming weeks.
Splash started working in Ethiopia in 2008 and have managed to reach 94% coverage across the city. They have secured $11.4 million USD in committed co-investment from the Ethiopian government – a critical step in ensuring the longevity and sustainability of the projects. After 16 years of working in Addis, Splash have perfected their model – enabling them to deliver high quality, cost-effective solutions which provide lasting results, including a 17% reduction in respiratory illness in students.
This year is the final push of the project – there are just 38 schools left in Addis that need clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure. We will be working with some incredible companies from the coffee industry to fund six of these schools. Over the next six weeks, we’ll be introducing you to the schools we’re working with and the companies who have pledged to kit them out with brand new water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.