A WaterAid Story: Keeping Patients Safe From Infection Without Clean Water - An Impossible Task

Among the beautiful hills of Jabi Tehnan in rural Ethiopia, lies a weathered health center.

In many ways, it's not that dissimilar from the clinics and hospital that we have here. It has doctors, nurses, cleaners, medical equipment and medicine. But there's something vital missing: water, and more specifically, clean water.

The hard-working staff at Yiraber Health Center want what is best for their patients, but there are daily struggles that come with coping without water. They have to make difficult decisions every day, knowing they could be spreading infections to new patients.

The lack of water also means that there's something else different about Yiraber – they have a member of staff whose job it is just to collect water. 

This is Tirunesh. She is paid a modest fee to collect 40 liters of water every day. She makes the back-breaking journey to the nearest water source, a spring half-an-hour's walk away, twice a day. On Thursdays and holidays she makes extra trips to make up for the days she won’t be collecting. And still, it's not enough.

What We Are Aiming To Achieve:

Better Hygiene Practices - train 10 health workers on influencing key hygiene behaviors and fund 10 months program to reach and train 400+ adolescent girls and 60+ breastfeeding mothers. 

Safe Water Supply Through Pipe Network - Provide 250 people with access to safe, adequate and assured treated water supply. 

Restoration Of Safe Water Sources - Restore existing wells to provide water to 100 people.

Water Conservation -  provide 200 students with a school rainwater harvesting system and access to safe drinking water.