World Bank approves $204m loan for water access, sanitation and hygiene in Ethiopia

The World Bank (WB) has approved a $204m loan to the Ethiopian One National WASH Programme for improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene in the country.

The funds will be used to develop the water and sanitation facilities in the entire country except its capital Addis Abeba, AllAfrica.com reported.

The programme was launched in September 2013 under the WASH Implementation Framework (WIF), the MoU for which was signed by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE).

MoWIE WASH coordinator Abiy Girma said: "We will construct toilets for health centres and public schools, and upgrade our water supply by constructing new water wells."

The WB will disburse the loan in four phases over a four-year period. It has already provided $5m for the project in January 2014 as part of the approved $204m loan.

Earlier this month, the African Development Bank Board approved a $91.10m loan and a technical support grant of $10.06m from the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI) Trust Fund for Ethiopia’s WASH.