Ethiopia Country Statement for Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting, 20 April 2012 Washington, DC

Transcription

1 Ethiopia Country Statement for Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting, 20 April 2012 Washington, DC Mobilizing Political Prioritization for WASH 1. Ethiopia is committed to provide Sanitation & Water to All: The government of Ethiopia s interest for the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene services is reflected way back in 1995 when a new constitution was prepared. In the 1995 constitution the Article 44 states that All persons have the right to live in a clean and healthy environment. Moreover, the Article 90 states that To the extent the country s resources permit, policies shall aim to provide all Ethiopians access to public health and education, clean water, housing, food and social security. The inclusion of the right to water and sanitation in the national constitution signifies the political commitment of the government of Ethiopia to achieve the full coverage of both drinking water and sanitation. Following the constitution different sector policies also address water, sanitation and hygiene issues in their perspectives. The National Water Resource Management Policy (1999) laid out a framework to implement community based water supply, sanitation and hygiene interventions in an integrated manner. The government of Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in the past few years in the water and sanitation sector. In 2005, the Water and Sanitation Universal Action Plan (UAP) was formally established. The national poverty plans such as the Plan for Accelerated & Sustainable Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) implementation during and the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) of 2010 are strategic frameworks to extricate Ethiopia from poverty so it becomes a middle income economy by The government is committed to create a favorable enabling environment for the WASH sector through developing clear policies, strategies, development programs and implementation frameworks such as the WASH Implementation Framework (WIF) which acts as the guiding document for the implementation of an integrated one WASH Program. The Ethiopian government has also laid out ambitious plans for water, sanitation and hygiene through its Universal Access Plan II (UAP II) which seeks to reach 98.5% access to safe water and 100% access to sanitation by 2015 (far more ambitious than the MDGs). The major feature of the WIF is that it has the leadership of four government Ministries (Ministry of Water & Energy, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Finance and Economic Development) who have pledged, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support an integrated WASH program that addresses the needs of individuals, communities, schools and health posts more holistically and reduces bureaucratic compartmentalization of services. The introduction of the Health Extension Program in 2004 and the introduction of Community Led Total Sanitation and Hygiene (CLTSH) campaigns helped accelerate growth of sanitation and hygiene services. The Country s first National Hygiene and Sanitation Strategic Action Plan (SAP) forms a key element of Ethiopia s Universal Access Plan (UAP) for water and sanitation and highlights the importance of achieving the GTP and Health Sector Development Programme (HSDP) IV goals which include ensuring that all Ethiopians have access to basic sanitation by The federal government of Ethiopia is not only committed to fulfilling target 10 of Goad 7 that is, reducing by 50 percent the proportion of the population without access to water and sanitation by the year 2015 but also to provide the coverage of water and sanitation to all by 2015 thereby improving the overall health and socio-economic condition and quality of life of our entire population, especially children and women. A recent statement made by the Minister of Health, Dr. Tedros Adhanom shows the commitment on part of the Ministry of Health which states that In Ethiopia, our eyes are on our own Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) targets, but globally we are also committed to achieving the MDGs and the hygiene and sanitation targets established through the AfricaSan process, including the ethekwini declaration made in The Ethiopian government hence is aiming beyond MDG targets in 1

2 curbing the problem of safe water, sanitation and hygiene problems prevailing in the country and to provide sanitation and water to all. 2. Ethiopia is committed to achieve MDG and UAP goals in WASH and have achieved the comprehensive goal of targets setting both for water and sanitation: In the field of sanitation, only 3% of the population (20% urban and 1 % rural) were using improved sanitation facilities in 1990 (JMP 2012). Our MDG target for 2015 is to ensure that at least 58 % of the population is using improved sanitation facilities by According to the GTP 2010, the national coverage of sanitation stands at 60 per cent with rural coverage lagging behind urban coverage (56 and 88 per cent, respectively). According to Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) 2012 update, the proportion of the population having access to improved and unimproved sanitation facilities stands at 54 percent (21% improved and 33 % unimproved). The government s figure of 60 % access does not deconstruct into population using improved, shared and unimproved sanitation facilities. Open defecation is still one of the biggest concerns in Ethiopia as 38 million people (i.e. 46 % of the total population) still defecate in the open. This figure has however been reduced from 49 million as reported in JMP 2010 to 38 million reported in JMP In the field of sanitation, we have set few important hygiene and sanitation related targets under the WASH Universal Access Plan/ Sanitation Action Plan (SAP) which is worth mentioning here: i. We have set a target to achieve a 82 % open defecation free Ethiopia by 2015 with all households having access to and using a basic minimum standard of toilet as well as practicing hand washing at critical times and observing the safe drinking water chain ii. We have set a target of achieving 84 % access to improved sanitation by 2015 iii. We are determined to increase proportion of households practicing hand washing with soap at critical times to 77% by 2015 iv. We are determined to increase proportion of household water treatment and safe storage practices to 77 % In the field of drinking water supply, only 14 % of the population (79 % urban and 5 % rural) were using improved drinking water sources in Our MDG target for percentage of population using improved drinking water sources is set at 63 %. In Ethiopia, according to the Growth and Transformation Plan (2010), the water supply coverage is 68.5 % (91.5 % urban and 62 % rural). The Joint Monitoring Report (JMP) 2012 update reports that the percentage of population using improved drinking water sources is 44 % (97 % urban and 34 % rural). The difference in between the government and JMP figures can be explained in part by different definitions of improved water source. Following are important targets which we have planned to achieve by 2015 in the field of drinking water supply: i. We are determined to provide access to improved water sources to 98.5 % of the population by 2015 (98 % to the rural and 100 % to the urban population) ii. We are committed to establish self-supply as a service delivery mechanism for rural water within the national WASH programme and alongside community-managed approaches - in order to reach more than 30% citizens without safe water access iii. We are committed to reduce the nonfunctionality of schemes from 20% in 2010 to 10% in Ethiopia has strengthened the Enabling Environment through political prioritization and have introduced sector reforms to achieve the targets set under MDG and UAP: a. WASH Implementation Framework WASH Implementation Framework (WIF) has been recently finalized. It provides the framework and strategic guidelines for implementing the National 2

3 WASH Program. The WIF aims to create an integrated One National WASH Program, led by the government of Ethiopia, to ensure that the targets, set out in the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) are achieved. Under this framework, the programming and financial inputs of all WASH stakeholders will be harmonized, and ultimately channeled through a single Consolidated WASH account. The WIF will spearhead the emerging Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) in Ethiopia which will replace separate and incongruent donor projects. b. Universal Access Plan (UAP) The government of Ethiopia has set itself upon a challenging course with its adoption of the Universal Access Plan for water and sanitation. The UAP document, aligned with the GTP, has been recently finalized. The document comprises four parts i.e. i) Rural water supply UAP ii) National hygiene and sanitation strategic action plan iii) Urban water supply UAP and iv) Urban sanitation UAP c. National Hygiene & Sanitation Strategic Action Plan (SAP): The National Hygiene and Sanitation Strategic Action Plan (SAP) have been prepared in 2012 to implement targets set under the Health Sector Development Programme IV. This plan will be translated on the ground through the Health Extension Program (HEP). The preparation of this Strategic Action Plan (SAP) does several things which will help Ethiopia realize its ambitious hygiene and sanitation targets. First, it clearly states the need for a strong link between the federal ministries and the sector stakeholders in Regional, Zonal and Woreda level offices. Second, the SAP highlights the fact that progress on hygiene and sanitation will increasingly be driven by community initiatives and will require an active and wellsupported private sector in a similar manner to water supply interventions. Third, the SAP articulates a clear set of approaches to hygiene and sanitation work in Ethiopia which is intended to harmonize work in the sector around CLTSH and other relevant approaches. d. Memorandum of Understanding on WASH Coordination Cooperation in the field of WASH intervention is getting stronger from time to time since 2006 when the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) on WASH coordination was signed among the Ministries of Health, Water and Education. The WASH coordination office was established since then which is effectively coordinating the efforts of the private sector, the donors, the civil society and the public sector at large for achieving the UAP targets aligned with the GTP. The MoU has been revised in order to reflect the new plans and strategies made in the WASH sector and to include the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development as a signatory of the revised MoU. In the revised MoU the National WASH Coordination Office is now being strengthened and given more roles and power for achieving the GTP/ UAP targets by e. Program Methodology and Implementation Service delivery for hygiene and sanitation and safe water handling is primarily through the health extension program and its workers. The mandate of HEP includes significant hygiene and sanitation promotion activities (seven of the 16 health packages) by two young female Health Extension Workers (HEWs) assigned to each kebele in the country. To date, the MoH have trained and deployed more than 38,000 Health Extension Workers (HEWs) for each of them to work with 500 households. Lately, MoH has also organized communities to speed up the effort of HEP in communities by introducing the health development army (HAD) whose sole responsibility is to fulfill all the 16 packages in their part and support 5 of its neighbors to come to the same level hence providing major support to HEP and HEWs activities in the communities. This arrangement also supports Behavior Change Communication (BCC) at community level and sustains the behavior change process. More recently, introduction of the Community Led Total Sanitation and Hygiene (CLTSH) approach to community and household hygiene and sanitation has re-invigorated the sector and helped reach more communities with the goal of ending open 3

4 defecation through self-built toilets, and by encouraging appropriate hand washing and water handling practices. f. Capacity Building & Knowledge Management The government of Ethiopia has policies and strategies that help s the sector to guide the development in a comprehensive manner. Capacity building is part of the strategies and sector development programs. The approach for knowledge management, learning and sharing can be clustered in to four thematic areas: Increased number of trained personnel at all levels Strengthened system for Action research Availability of platforms and networking for dissemination Coordination among the Academic and Sector institutions g. Monitoring and Evaluation The government of Ethiopia is committed to improve national monitoring and information management systems by creating a WASH inventory. The national inventory will establish a national baseline on water and sanitation availability by type, adequacy and maintenance level and other relevant information. 4. Ethiopia is determined to move forward with the ambition to declare itself 82 % open defecation free by 2015 The following are areas that will be a focus for the remaining three years to achieve the desired targets: i. Strengthening the Enabling environment: Attention will be given to implement and disseminate newly introduced working modalities like that of the WIF and review existing working modalities that impede smooth implementation of programs on regular basis. Stakeholder s engagement at different level will also be given adequate attention. The government will put an exerted political commitment by leading the WASH program to the level best. ii. Increase the rate of fund raising and utilization: The government along with all stakeholders will work to improve the rate of utilization and there by fund raising to the sector. iii. Create clear funding mechanism: The government will strengthen WASH funding targets and also set regular review mechanism. The government will commit to address any impediments that hamper clear reporting, which impact attracting additional resources. iv. Strengthen knowledge management, learning and sharing of experiences: Capacity building through well designed knowledge management, learning and sharing system is an important factor that would help us to achieve the targets under SAP and UAP. Thus, in the course of the coming three years, government will give due attention to strengthen the knowledge management system in the sector. v. Improve the Monitoring and Evaluation System and create sound MIS system: There are variations in definitions and figures between government and international organization which create complication for sector stakeholders in their on-going planning. This would be one of the areas that would be strengthened through developing proactive system in the remaining program years. 5. Ethiopia has estimated the total financing needs required to achieve the MDG and UAP and look forward to the donor community for forging long term partnerships to achieve our targets: The government of Ethiopia is mindful of the fact that it is important to reach consensus on how the government and Donors can jointly deliver finance to best meet the needs of increased capacity to plan and implement the WASH related development plans of the GTP. The main issues with sector financing fall into two areas: first, the effective use 4

5 of existing financing and second, the increased funding required in order to achieve the national UAP targets and MDGs. Our aim is to improve sector harmonization and we have introduced a single financing modality channeled through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. We have now estimated the total financing needs for the sector totaling to an estimated US $ 3.0 billion till 2015 for achieving the targets set under the Universal Access Plan. Following is the breakdown of US $ 3.0 billion required to achieve the universal access targets: i. A total of US $ billion required to construct /expand/rehabilitate about 970 urban water supply schemes to achieve 100 % urban access by the year 2015 ii. A total of US $ 1.75 billion required for achieving 98.5 % rural access through constructing/expanding/rehabilitating about 93,000 rural water supply schemes with the following breakdown: a. US $ 0.87 billion for new construction b. US $ 0.23 billion for rehabilitation and expansion c. US $ 0.48 billion for program management, capacity building, study & design, maintenance support, reinvestment, seed money for catchment management and environmental safeguard. d. US $ 0.13 billion for school water supply and water quality monitoring )Share of the Education Ministry) e. US $ 0.04 billion for health post water supply (Share of the Health Ministry) b. US $ 0.415billion required meeting 100% rural access to basic sanitation and hygiene promotion targets by the year 2015 with the following share of different quarters i. Federal Ministry of Health (US $ 238 million) ii. Federal Ministry of Educations (US $ 131 million) iii. Custody administration (US $ 6 million) iv. Contribution by beneficiaries (US $ 39 million) Assuming that about 50% of the requirement is allocated and or pledged by the government and donors the country still requires to generate about US $ 1.5 billion for full scale implementation of all the UAP components. The Government of Ethiopia is committed to establish a Consolidated WASH Account in 2013 and through that account finance & implement One National WASH Program with aligned, harmonized & integrated mechanisms in partnership with all external financiers, NGOs and private sector. Ethiopia is committed through this integration to provide nearly all citizens in Ethiopia full access to water and sanitation services in accordance with the Growth and Transformation Plan of Ethiopia. iii. A total of US $ 0.62 billion required to meet 100% access to basic sanitation and hygiene promotion targets by the year 2015 with the following breakdown a. US $ billion for achieving 100% access to urban sanitation including latrines, solid waste disposal and desludging facilities by the year