“Sanitation is more important than political independence.” – Mahatma Gandhi, 1925
More and more people around the world are paying attention to the acronym WASH, which stands for water and sanitation health. WASH is an important part of international aid efforts to raise awareness and focus on the need for clean water in developing countries.
In Ethiopia the need for clean water is great, but communities are struggling to find access to clean water for drinking and sanitation all around the country from the Omo River Basin in the south to the Nile River Basin in the north.
Ethiopia has a population of nearly 99 million, and just under half of this population lacks access to safe water. Even more shockingly, two thirds of Ethiopians lack access to clean water and facilities for sanitation.
Water supplies are often contaminated as they come from shallow, unprotected ponds that are at times shared with animals. Rainwater also washes waste from surrounding areas to the source. This has a plethora of negative impacts on communities’ health and safety.
In rural parts of the country, women and children have to walk up to six hours to collect water. The jugs women and children carry back to their village filled with water weigh up to 40 pounds.
Addressing the severity of these major issues, there are a few groups working to provide Ethiopia with clean water solutions that NWNL supports.
Soapply is a company based in the United States that sells organic and non-toxic soap. With each purchase of their soap, Soapply funds up to $10 worth of water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives in the Blue Nile region of Tigray in northern Ethiopia.
In other parts of Africa, the Hippo Roller has become a popular way to transport large amounts of water easily. Their large cylinders roll on the ground and are pushed with a metal handle bar. This takes much of the load off villagers transporting water and allows them to carry up to 5 times as much water as a bucket.
No Water No Life encourages you to save water at home and spread awareness of solutions to water availability and sanitation issues elsewhere!