26 May 2018, WUKRO, Tigray region – Another major milestone has been reached in the Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector in Ethiopia with the inauguration of a model water supply, sanitation and waste management system in Wukro Town, Tigray Region. Part of the One WASH Plus programme, the system integrates innovative and resilient solutions to provide WASH services to 73,000 people, including 35,000 children under the age of 15, residing in the town and its satellite villages. The programme, which began in 2013, will benefit 250,000 people in eight small towns and surrounding rural villages in Amhara, Oromia, Somali and Tigray regions with a total contribution of US $36 million from UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
Attending the inauguration were His Excellency Dr. Negash Wagasho, State Minister of Water Irrigation and Electricity, Dr Christian Rogg, Head of DFID in Ethiopia, Ms. Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia, officials from the Tigray Regional Government and Wukro Town administration officials.
“Ethiopia’s rapid urbanization and population growth has resulted in increased water stress,” said Dr. Negash Wagasho. “The development of adequate, resilient, sustainable and inclusive WASH services is therefore a must to ensure sustainable development of rapidly growing towns. Thus, what we are seeing today is what can be achieved when we put our concerted efforts together.”
The Wukro project involved expanding the capacity of the town’s existing system to supply water to the town and five satellite villages, integrating it with a “full chain” system for managing liquid sludge and waste (from containment to recycling), improving water and sanitation in institutions such as schools and health facilities, and establishing a business model for managing the facility comprising the local administration and private operators. The low-cost technology deployed in treating domestic liquid waste in selected social housing developments in the town was sourced through a partnership with the Government of Brazil in the framework of South-South cooperation.
