A study of water supply and sanitation services in Shebedino Wereda of Sidama Zone: case of Midre-Genet. Research report 2. Action research on community-managed water supply, sanitation and hygiene services in Shebedino Wereda, Sidama Zone of Southern Nat

There is a long experience in rural water service provision in Ethiopia and many organizations working in the sector use community management approaches. However experiences are not shared and coordination aiming stakeholders is not optimal. In order to learn from experiences and address existing problems and gaps, an Action Research Project for scaling up of community management has been initiated in Ethiopia in 2004. A National Steering Committee was established to coordinate the implementation of this research and ensure the dissemination of information and lessons learnt.

This case study of Midre-Genet Rural Water and Sanitation Service is an input to support the scaling up of community-managed water supply and sanitation services.
The objectives were to increase the coverage in the wereda and learn from the process, to analyse issues that influence sustainability and to learn from the process about factors contributing to sustainability. The study aimed 1) to identify and assess problems in performance and management of water service; 2) to assess the performance and management of the WASH Committee; 3) to identify capacity-building mechanisms needed for the WASH Committee to work effectively; 3) to identify appropriate institutional support needed to run the service effectively and the capacity gap faced by the institutions to support such a water service; 4) to provide financial estimates needed to upgrade and improve the water service; 5) to identify technical support needed to upgrade and improve the water service, and 6) to suggest and recommend resource mobilization mechanisms for replacement, operation and maintenance costs.