Fact Sheet: Ethiopia Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

In 2015, Ethiopia achieved its Millennium Development Goal target of 57 percent access to safe drinking water, an increase from just 13 percent in 1990. Yet access to improved sanitation, while also vastly improved since 1990, remains alarmingly low at only 28 percent nationwide.

Water cuts across nearly every aspect of our programming, underscoring USAID investments in the health and well-being of Ethiopians by ensuring them access to safe, clean water. Used for drinking, hygiene, and health care, water is also needed to irrigate crops, feed livestock and develop renewable energy. Scarce water supplies can become potential sources of conflict. USAID/Ethiopia incorporates WASH activities within their governance, health, nutrition, resilience and emergency assistance activities with a focus on sustainability. They also help to strengthen the Ethiopian government’s capacity to coordinate WASH and water resource management.