Updated: Monday 09 April 2012

"One National WaSH Program" launched in March

The first preparatory meeting of the "One National WaSH Program" Task Force took place on March 28, 2012 in the Ministry of Water and Energy. The event signaled the first action steps taken on the road towards "One National WaSH Program" in Ethiopia. The harmonized and integrated sector program will easen the financing and implementation of the CMP in the future as all funds can be chaneled through one consolidated WaSH account.

The WaSH Implementation Framework (WIF) introduces the establishment of "One National WaSH Program" (sector program) instead of ongoing scattered project based implementation of WaSH in Ethiopia. This national strategy is to harmonize, align, integrate and accelerate the WaSH implementation in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) targets. As the year 2015 for reaching the MDGs and GTP targets is approaching fast, it was therefore crucial to start the necessary preparations for the practical establishment of "One National WaSH Program" as per the WIF. The task force can carry out its work to the certain stage although the WIF has not yet been approved. The harmonized and integrated sector program will easen the financing and implementation of the CMP in the future, as all funds can be chaneled through one consolidated WaSH account.

The task force shall accomplish its mission within the next 15 months of time. In order to have all structures, instruments and plans in place by the end of June 2013 (end of 2005 Ethiopian Fiscal Year) for the comprehensive "One National WaSH Program", many preparatory activities need to be completed. The following instruments have to be in place at all levels (federal, regional, zonal and woreda):

  • the multi-donor consolidated WaSH account
  • approved harmonized and integrated annual WaSH plans and budgets
  • operational WaSH coordination structures
  • tools and procedures necessary for integrated planning, reporting and monitoring
  • harmonized guidelines and core materials for capacity building

The members of the task force include the representatives from the Ministry of Water and Energy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Civil Society Organizations and DAG Water Technical Working Group.