The Lutheran World Federation Ethiopia Program
Addis Ababa Office
P.O. Box 40132
Woreda 6, House No. 910
Arada Kifle Ketema
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Enquiries: [email protected]
The conflict between the Oromo and Somali ethnic groups resulted in massive displacements of people into woredas bordering the two regional states in Bale zone with over 63,668 IDPs currently accommodated. Over 29,611 (14,952 female) conflict-affected IDPs have settled in Rayitu, Seweyna, Dawe Kachen, Dello Mena and Meda Welabu woredas. The vast majority of these IDPs arrived between October 2017 and January 2018.
As per a rapid assessment conducted by LWF in Bale zone (May 2018), access to potable water has been particularly strained in Hatawi Kebele (Seweyna woreda) due to the failure of the Digelu borehole in January 2018. There was an urgent need for borehole rehabilitation given the over-usage and anticipated depletion of community ponds shared by IDPs and host communities. IDPs did lack access to sufficient jerry-cans, soaps and other WASH NFI for their daily needs. There was also an urgent need for sanitation and hygiene promotion interventions to address the risk of water and sanitation-related diseases and improve water access and storage. There have been few actors outside of the government providing WASH in the assessed woredas.
Using ECHO ERM funding, LWF provided emergency WASH to IDPs in the four woredas of Bale zone, LWF managed to address the emergency WaSH needs of IDPs through this project. The response primarily targeted IDPs who have fled their homes following the upsurge of conflict between ethnics Oromos and ethnic Somalis on the regional border between Oromia and Somali Regional States.
LWF’s interventions provided immediate assistance on sanitation, hygiene and WASH NFIs in order to minimize health risks associated with WASH coverage. The borehole rehabilitated at Digelu site of Hatawi Kebele provided potable water access to the locals and can be used to plan water trucking for the IDPs as the IDP sites are located at a 20 km distance from the borehole. LWF managed to accomplish all the planned activities as per the required level of quality and standards.