KOICA-GDEF WASH Project-

KOICA-GDEF: Water-borne Diseases Reduction Project through WASH development

Arsi Negele is a rural district in West Arsi Zone of Oromia Regional State. The total population of the district is 390,000. Through a three-year WASH project Habitat for Humanity Ethiopia reaches communities who have been suffering from lack of safe water and sanitation facilities. The project is now in its third phase and aims at serving more than 76,500 people in seven rural Kebeles (localities) of the rift valley and the adjacent highland. In the project lifetime and beyond, Habitat for Humanity Ethiopia works with local, national, and international partners to build improved resilience to water-borne diseases through increased access to clean water, adequate sanitation, and enhanced awareness on hygiene for communities.

The project activities include construction of water infrastructures: construction of water reservoirs with the capacity of 300 cubic meter, installation of 52 km distribution lines, construction of 24 new water points, rehabilitation of existing water points and creating sustainable governance structure for water services. The work also consists of other key activities, most importantly capacity building for community members through water-borne disease reduction training and monitoring of water facilities in coordination with WASH Committees.

The other key component of the project is sanitation marketing. The main focus is creating open defecation free community (ODF) through improving toilets by their own capacity, and assisting Small and Micro-Enterprises (SME) in production, promotion, selling and installation of sanitation products such as Sato Pans and  pre-fabricated Slabs.

ODF Free Locality

Primary open defecation free (ODF) locality One of the key components of KOICA-GDEF WASH Project is creating open defecation free…

Primary open defecation free (ODF) locality

One of the key components of KOICA-GDEF WASH Project is creating open defecation free environment in Gorbi Derera locality of Negele Arsi District. The objective of ODF is to break defection contact from human being. The main approach to practice ODF is construction of latrine at household level and used it to make living environment clean. The locality of Gorbi Derera has been free of open defecation as Habitat Ethiopia assisted 373 households to own latrine and residents receive awareness creation training.

To celebrate ODF as transformation, more than 1,000 residents of Gorbi Derera gathered at Gorbi dida village  on June 22, 2022.   The ODF announcement event was held at the presence of government officials, Abageda and Hadha Sinke (male and female community leaders), health workers and Habitat for humanity project staff.

The community takes this event as special moment to assure their locality is free of open defecation. Community leaders opened the event with blessing, and women and young people presented traditional dance. Government representatives from health office and district administration congratulated the community for making their locality free of open defecation. They conveyed message of thanks and recognition to Habitat Ethiopia and KOICA-GDEF for realizing the project and bring significant change in the community.

The key message at the event was ‘your health is in your hand, and never back to open defection’.  To make ODF practices sustainable, the community set rules and regulations, and those who violate the rules will receive social punishment.  Habitat’s work of creating ODF locality aligns with one of government policy guides-‘protection is better than curing’.