Promoting gender-responsive, climate resilient WASH in the most vulnerable, drought-prone communities in Berbere Woreda, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Changes in rainfall patterns and deforestation have exacerbated cyclical flooding and drought, both of which have become more frequent and extreme. There is a high level of displacement and inter-kebele migration during the lean season. In terms of WASH service coverage, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) coverage of the woreda is among the lowest. The woreda suffers from high water insecurity with poor sanitation and hygiene services. Most of the communities and institutions (health and school) rely on unsafe water sources or from unprotected sources such as rivers, and ponds etc., open defecation practices are common in the area and the prevalence of water borne diseases prevalence rate is also high. Women and girls are often responsible for collecting water and walking a long distance to fetch water exposed them to risks of violence and abuse and reducing their time use for productive work. The project outcome is to increase access to climate resilient and inclusive WASH services for 41,549 (20,359 female, 21,190 male) poor, vulnerable and marginalized people living in Berbere woreda through climate resilient WASH service delivery, capacity building, strengthening WASH governance system to enhance sustainability and documenting and sharing the learnings from the project to scale up to other areas in the region.