ADDIS ABABA, 27 April 2018 - The Government of Japan has announced that it will fund a project to improve water supply, public health and general environmental quality in Ethiopia. This is one of eight new projects implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization projects (UNIDO) in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Nigeria, Somalia and the Syrian Arab Republic, with Japanese funding totaling US$5.2 million.

The project in Ethiopia will introduce an innovative solar powered water sanitation system. It supports the Government of Ethiopia’s Rural WASH Programme, which includes the construction of 55,865 new water points and water supply schemes, and the rehabilitation of 20,010 existing schemes in rural areas by 2020.

Shinichi Saida, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia, said, “We appreciate that this project is consistent with Japan’s aid policy, which intends to develop water resources, improve public health and preserve the environment in Ethiopia by utilizing unique Japanese technology”.

“This project will contribute to supplying approximately two tons of clean water per day for 100 to 200 households in Ethiopia. We expect that this project will provide a good practice and be disseminated not only in Ethiopia but also throughout the African continent in the near future,” Ambassador Saida added.

Speaking at the kick-off event held on 28 March at UNIDO headquarters in Vienna, during which the eight projects and the funding from the Government of Japan were announced, UNIDO Director General, LI Yong, highlighted that the projects aim to strengthen the humanitarian-development nexus and promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development by taking a human security approach.

Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna, stated that the projects will “help individuals to live under healthy conditions, consolidate their livelihoods and, with all of this, gain optimism for their future.”

The provision of clean water to its citizens is one of the most urgent and important issues for the Government of Ethiopia. Despite impressive progress in recent years, around 60% of the country’s rural population does not have access to basic water services. Around 11 million people living in these areas relied on surface water for drinking purposes as of 2015. The wide-reaching economic impacts, adverse health effects, and negative environmental impacts resulting from poor sanitation and hygiene, mean it is imperative to take action to improve access to clean water, particularly in rural areas.

For further information, please contact:

Takeshi Nagasawa

Senior Programme Management Expert, UNIDO

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