Lifesaving Emergency WASH Response to IDPs/Returnees and Host Communities through Provision of Safe Water Supply and Installation of Sanitation Facilities in IDP sites and hygiene promotion in Bale Zone’s Madda Walabu and Sewena woredas The proposed intervention will provide life-saving WASH assistance to 12,065 households (HHs) totaling 58,824 persons (30208M, 28616F) in the Sewena and Madda Walabu woredas of Bale Zone in the Oromia regional state. Of the total, 3,945 households, or 19,724 (9686 M and 10,038 F), are internally displaced peoples (IDPs), affected by the inter-communal conflict between Somali and Oromo regions since September 2017. They are in critical need of continued humanitarian response, especially emergency WASH intervention. The remaining 8,120 households, or 39,100 individuals (20,522 M and 18,578F), are members of the local host community, impacted by drought, cholera, and COVID-19.

As indicated in the Ethiopian Humanitarian Needs Overview 2020 (HNO 2020), over one third of people in need face several types of challenges and have multiple needs. Some 33% of the people live in woredas classified with high severity of need, while 4% live in woredas classified with very high severity of need. One of the targeted woredas, Madda Walabu, is among the woredas where persons with the most severe and compounded needs are found as per the HNO 2020.  

As per the HNO 2020, conflict displacement, disease outbreaks, rain shortfalls in parts of the country, and floods in others will remain key drivers of humanitarian need in Ethiopia. Displaced persons are particularly exposed to humanitarian consequences and related effects. Poor sanitation situations in IDP sites, human rights violations, lack of access to clean water, and proper sanitation facilities contribute to the rapid spread of communicable diseases, a concern in Ethiopia due to the nationwide cholera outbreaks. Additionally, communities hosting IDPs are also affected by crowded shelters, insufficient food and water supplies, disease outbreaks and protection risks. The targeted woredas affected by conflict and drought and at risk of cholera due to neighboring Guji zone is already affected by cholera and high mobility between the two zones. Specifically, the two targeted woredas are at risk of the global pandemic disease COVID-19, which can be mitigated through life saving WASH intervention.

The project is targeted to address the evidence need-based critical gap of IDPs, IDP returnees and host community affected by drought and at high risk of disease outbreak through life saving emergency WASH response. This will be done via rehabilitation of non-functional water schemes that will directly or indirectly benefit IDPs through water trucking thereby reducing the cost of water truck construction of  semi-permanent shared communal sanitation facilities procurement and provision of essential life-saving WASH NFIs like soap and water purification chemicals and hand-washing facilities water storage containers basic WASH emergency capacity building trainings and, an intensive hygiene promotion campaign including COVID 19 for IDPs and hosting community in Sawena and Medewelabu. 

The project will be implemented through direct intervention by the IRC as per the gaps identified at IDPs and hosting communities with critical WASH needs in two districts of the Bale zone and coordinating with other agencies including UNICEF and government organizations in the WASH cluster at all levels. At the end of the project period a total of 
12,065HHs, or 58,824 individuals, will be benefited.