The overall planning process of the OWNP involved two broad steps. First, the country's WASH status (before 2013) was assessed; service levels and problems were also identified. Then, goals were set to address the problems or increase service levels to reach the intended targets. The targets to be achieved, as you read in Study Session 2, had been set out in the Universal Access Plan (UAP) and the National Hygiene and Sanitation Strategic Action Plan (SAP). Box 14.1 reminds you of these important targets.

Box 14.1 Original targets for the OWNP

The Government of Ethiopia (GoE) set out its goals in the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). This identified water and sanitation as priority areas for achieving sustainable growth and poverty reduction. In line with the GTP, the GoE prepared the Universal Access Plan (UAP) with the following targets, which were adopted for the OWNP:

  • 98.5% access to water supply (100% for urban populations and 98% for rural areas)
  • reduction of the proportion of non-functioning water supply services to 10%
  • 100% access to basic sanitation (improved and unimproved)
  • 77% of the population to practise handwashing at critical times
  • 77% of the population to practise safe water handling and water treatment in the home
  • 80% of communities to achieve open defecation free (ODF) status.

The 98.5% target for water supply is derived from the average for all regions. In most regions the target is 100% but in Somali and Afar the regional water supply targets are 74% and 75% respectively. These lower figures reflect the challenges of providing water services in these pastoralist regions. The effect of these lower targets on the overall figure (only 1.5% less than 100%) is due to the relatively low population density in these two regions. The ultimate target is 100% for the entire country.

The Programme was divided into two phases over the full seven-year duration to allow review and adjustment at the end of 2015 when the GTP, UAP and Millennium Development Goals periods ended. It was foreseen that there could be changes in GoE policies, strategies and plans at that time, so the end of Phase 1 was timed to allow for these changes to be accommodated in Phase 2 of the Programme, which was originally planned for 2016–2020.

(It should be noted that the schedule has since changed. Full implementation of the Programme, which was planned for 2013, did not start until late 2014. This followed the endorsement of the Programme Operational Manual (POM) in September 2014 and the opening of the Consolidated WASH Account at MoFED to receive funds from donors.)

By comparing these targets with the situation at the outset, the size of the task could be defined and possible solutions identified. From Study Session 13, you know about the detailed targets for new and improved services that were itemised in the results framework. Once the number and scale of all the new services required had been identified, then cost estimates for each could be made, which added up to the total budget required for the Programme. OWNP planning used two complementary processes on which to base the estimates of work required and budget. The two processes were:

  1. Projections based on updated models used in preparing the Universal Access Plan (UAP) and Strategic Action Plan (SAP).
  2. A process based on information received from the regions and towns.

Budget estimates from these two processes were approximately the same and the figure of US$2.41 billion was taken as the overall OWNP planned budget.

Planning criteria

The targets in Box 14.1 were the overall goals for the Programme, but it also needed to specify how achievement of the targets should be assessed. For example, to measure progress towards the target of 98.5% access to water supply there needs to be a standard, or criterion, for what ‘access to water supply’ means. The criteria for water supply and sanitation for both rural and urban settings determined the number of water schemes and sanitation facilities to be constructed. For OWNP planning, the government used the standards for water and sanitation from the UAP and SAP, which were as follows:

  • Rural water supply: 15 litres per capita per day within 1.5 km radius.
  • Urban water supply: 20 litres per capita per day within 0.5 km radius.
  • Rural and peri-urban sanitation: reduce open defecation by constructing both traditional and improved latrines using the community-led total sanitation and hygiene (CLTSH) approach (described in Study Session 10).
  • Urban sanitation: sewerage will be considered in Addis Ababa, while desludging facilities and the provision of public toilets will be considered for other towns (OWNP, 2013).

Some of the terms used in these criteria may need explanation. Per capita is Latin and means per head or per person. Sewerage is the network of underground sewer pipes in a town or city. (Note this is not the same as sewage, which is the wastewater that flows through a sewer.) Urban areas without sewerage rely on pit latrines and septic tanks. These need to be desludged regularly, i.e. sludge that accumulates over time has to be removed. Desludging facilities include vacuum truck services and sludge drying beds. Vacuum trucks suck out the sludge from the pit or septic tank and take it away for disposal. Sludge drying beds are shallow tanks where sludge is left to dry out and can then be used as a soil improver.

Rewrite the criterion for rural water supply as a complete sentence using your own words.

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The criterion for assessing if people in rural areas have access to water supply is that there should be sufficient quantity of water available to provide 15 litres for each person every day and the source of water must be within 1.5 km of their home.

The planners used these criteria and several other data inputs to calculate the number of facilities required and their costs. They needed to know the number of people living in an area and where they lived, the number of kebeles, the location of water sources or potential water sources and how much water they could provide, as well as sources and amounts of financial support. For budgeting purposes, they took account of regional factors such as the availability and costs of labour and materials, and also made a financial forecast of inflation. Plans and budgets were developed for all regions of Ethiopia and for each of the OWNP components. For water supply there are plans for new rural water schemes, for rehabilitating existing rural water schemes and for new urban water supply systems. For sanitation the plans cover combined rural and peri-urban areas, and urban areas. There are also plans for water supply and sanitation improvements in institutions. The OWNP document sets out the details of the facilities and costs for each of these components. The next section describes the plans for rural water supply in more detail. For full details of all the regional plans for all components of water and sanitation you should refer to the OWNP document.

Last modified: Wednesday, 24 August 2016, 7:16 PM