Skip to main content

Published on: 20/09/2013

On 29th August 2013 the Netherlands Embassy in Addis (which we know as EKN) organised a meeting – one of a regular series – to look for synergies between different WASH programs being implemented in Ethiopia with support from the Netherlands. This was a special meeting. It was the last working day and farewell to 1st Secretary Health, HIV/AIDS, Nutrition and WASH, Marius de Jong, who was moving on to Benin. The meeting discussed the progress of UNICEF, Dutch WASH Alliance (DWA), PLAN, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, SNV, Meta Meta and Vitens’ WASH projects and programmes. The meeting aimed to trigger new collaborations and to inform new members of the embassy team.

A recurring theme of the discussions was about fragmentation: of our activities, of the Ethiopian WASH sector in general, and the wider development effort.

Water is not a spearhead in the Dutch Multi-Annual Strategic Plan (MASP) in Ethiopia and the embassy no longer funds significant WASH activities. However, there are major on-going projects (e.g. led by UNICEF) and the Dutch water sector is very active in the country. Some activities are also integrated water in the Food & Nutrition Security (FNS) programme which supports the Small Scale Irrigation component of the Agricultural Growth Programme (AGP). The Dutch WASH Alliance runs a major programme funded from the Hague as does PLAN for its WASH activities linked to village savings schemes. MetaMeta and Vitens Evides International are active in supporting urban water supplies.

A recurring theme of the discussions was about fragmentation: of our activities, of the Ethiopian WASH sector in general, and the wider development effort. There were lots of opportunities identified for more collaboration and synergy between organizations around the table, and that is a starting point. Quarterly meetings were agreed, but what else could be done? One comment was that meetings need to go beyond just information sharing. Mapping of the Netherlands-supported WASH aid industry was also proposed. This could make information more accessible on the different WASH projects, networks and alliance including their members, objectives and activities.

A major challenge to overcome is the required cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder approach of WASH policies and programmes. This was always the case but is more urgent as objectives and linkages are broadened e.g. to food security. Coordination of emergency and food security activities at woreda and regional levels is often better than of development activities we heard. One idea was that WASH partners should use opportunities to promote cross-sectoral activities in such programmes as the Productive Safety Net Project (PSNP) by promoting MoWE strategies as Self-Supply and WASH/MUS through interaction with emergency/food security coordination committees at woreda and regional level. One concrete idea was to take the lead and organize a meeting between PSNP and WASH implementing partners to discuss cross-sectoral activities.

Disclaimer

At IRC we have strong opinions and we value honest and frank discussion, so you won't be surprised to hear that not all the opinions on this site represent our official policy.

Back to
the top