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We are pleased to announce that JICA is assisting Bahir Dar City in the fight against the novel Corona virus (COVID-19) by addressing the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) gap. On January 11, 2021, Mr. Takeshi Matsuyama, Senior Representative of JICA Ethiopia Office, handed over supplies worth 1.4 million ETB to Mr. Derese Asmare, Design and Construction Case Team Leader of Bahir Dar Water Supply and Sewerage Service (BDWSSS). It is expected that 314,000 urban residents of Bahir Dar City will be direct and indirect beneficiaries of these supplies.

As the third largest city in Ethiopia, Bahir Dar continues to expand rapidly and the demand for water has increased concurrently. However, there is a lag in the improvement of water sources and water supply facilities, which is now exacerbated due to COVID-19. JICA has been working with the Government of Ethiopia to facilitate water resource development, expand existing reservoirs and construct water transmission pipelines in the area.

To mitigate the impact of COVID-19, JICA decided to provide the additional support to BDWSSS by donating water supply equipment and materials, such as surface water pumps, various valves and pipes that are needed to secure safe drinking water to the communities. Additionally, multiple water storage tankers (with the capacity of storing 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 litters) were also donated in this support to cooperate in the construction of new handwashing stations at critical places, including marketplaces and public transportation hubs. Lastly, basic hygiene materials such as facemasks, gloves, soaps, handheld thermometers and hand sanitizers are included in the donation to protect the essential workers of BDWSSS from infection.

Samples of the donated hygiene and water supply materials

Surface water pumps

5,000 litter water storage tankers

Handover of COVID-19 related supplies