Hydrating Communities: Two Decades of Clean Water and Climate-Resilient Systems by Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia

Featured image : A student at Chekorsa Secondary School in Shebe Woreda, Jimma, enjoys clean water from the newly inaugurated water scheme.

Genet Abebe, a 60-year-old mother of three from the Gomma district in Ethiopia’s Jimma Zone, knows too well the struggle of living without clean water. For years, she walked over a kilometer daily, sometimes taking several trips, just to fetch water. With age, her burden only grew heavier, worsened by illnesses from unsafe water that repeatedly affected her household.

Genet, fetching water from the newly inagurated water scheme, Chedero Sussie Kebele in Gomma district, Jimma Everything changed when Amref Health Africa’s Reach, Expand and Access Community Health Services (REACH) project, supported by the Government of the Netherlands, brought clean water to Genet’s community. With newly installed water pumps, tanks, and pipelines, safe water now flowed just steps from her home.

“We didn’t believe it was true,” Genet recalled, watching water stream into her village for the first time. “It felt like a dream.”

On 16 June 2025, the community of Chedero Sussie Kebele inaugurated the new water and school WASH facilities. The event drew together both community members and supporters, including the Dutch Ambassador to Ethiopia, Oromia regional officials, and representatives from Amref Health Africa and Engender Health. But the proudest moment belonged to Genet, who stepped forward, bouquet in hand, to thank those who stood with her community.

“They came all this way to hand over the water and sanitation facilities they built for us. To stand with us. It gives us hope. It tells our children that we matter.” She said.

Genet, with the Dutch Ambassador to Ethiopia, holding a bouquet of fresh flowers in moment of gratitude, Chedero Sussie Kebele in Gomma District, Jimma Since 2004, Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia has worked with the government, donors, and communities to close the WASH gap. Between 2013 and 2025 alone, over USD 10 million has been invested to construct more than 200 water schemes, providing safe water to 2 million people across urban, rural, and pastoralist areas.

These climate-resilient water systems, powered by solar, gravity-fed, and grid technologies, support ground and spring water development, source expansion, and the rehabilitation of schools, communities, and health facilities. By integrating biogas, small-scale irrigation, and school gardening, these systems are linking water security to improved nutrition and livelihoods.

And the impact goes beyond numbers. Households now enjoy reliable, climate-friendly access to safe water. Health facilities are better equipped to prevent infections and care for patients. Schools with WASH facilities can keep children learning, healthy, and proud. And for women and young people, new livelihood opportunities in WASH enterprises are unlocking economic empowerment.

For Genet, clean water was more than just survival. It meant dignity, recognition, and the promise of a better future. “I want our children to drink clean water, to go to school clean and proud, not ashamed,” Genet said. “I want them to learn, to grow, to build something better.”

Genet’s story, one of restored dignity and newfound hope, is central to Amref’s WASH interventions.

As Gizachew Menge, WASH Program Manager at Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia, explains: “ For us, WASH is not just about installing pipes and pumps, it is about reshaping lives and restoring dignity. By using solar-powered systems, affordable maintenance models, and community-led management, we design projects to last for the long run.”

A school child in Bekekobo Kebele, Shebe Woreda, Jimma, beams with joy as water flows from a newly dug well.

This initiative is strengthened through partnerships with local governments, the private sector, and communities themselves, ensuring that facilities remain functional well into the future. This collaborative model has made Amref’s WASH interventions a benchmark for sustainable, people-centered programming in Ethiopia.

A Blueprint for the Future: Building Resilience through Climate-Smart WASH Interventions Climate change is not only an environmental issue; it is a health issue. It multiplies risks across water, agriculture, disaster management, and governance. As climate change accelerates water scarcity and threatens fragile ecosystems, Amref Health Africa is embedding climate-smart approaches across all WASH activities.

Through Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), projects not only emphasize prevention, mitigation, and adaptation, but also integrate innovative solutions such as groundwater suitability mapping with remote sensing, and Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) in drought-prone areas like Jimma and Borena. These solutions safeguard aquifers, stabilize ecosystems, and protect at-risk communities from climate shocks, ensuring sustainable water systems for future generations.

As Africa gathers for the 2025 AU Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, Amref offers a blueprint for scalable, community-led WASH solutions that align with national priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals .

To scale these solutions, dedicated climate financing is essential. Now is the moment to channel meaningful investment toward health-focused, climate-resilient WASH systems to ensure meaningful investments reach the most vulnerable communities.

The inauguration of the REACH Project infrastructure in the Shebe and Gomma districts is proof of what is possible. What was handed over that day was more than infrastructure. It was dignity, hope, and the powerful message that every community deserves the chance to thrive, one drop at a time.

Clean energy driving clean water, a solar-powered system brings safe water to Chemichego Kebele, Jimma, Gomma District. About Amref Health Africa Amref Health Africa is the largest African-based and led international health organization, reaching over 30 million people each year across 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. For more than 65 years, we have worked alongside communities, governments, and partners to drive people-centered health systems and address the social determinants of health. Our network includes sister organizations in Europe and North America, as well as subsidiaries such as Amref Flying Doctors, Amref Enterprises, and Amref International University.

In Ethiopia, Amref has been active since the 1960s and fully operational as of 2002, co-creating solutions with government and communities to serve women, children, and hard-to-reach populations, including pastoralist communities. Our WASH program is central to this work, ensuring sustainable access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene through direct service delivery, advocacy, and capacity development. Guided by national and global frameworks, we work through multi-sectoral approaches and strong partnerships to improve health, nutrition, and resilience, especially in vulnerable and underserved areas.

Students drinking water from the system built by Amref REACH project, Agaro Ras Desta Primary School, Jimma The above article was a contribution from Kenaw Gebreselassie, Communication Manager, Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia. For more info on Amref's work click here.