Summary

In this Study Session, you have learned that:

• There is a hierarchy of laws in Ethiopia. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land with proclamations, regulations and directives at lower levels of the hierarchy.
• Policies set out government and regional plans and provide goals and principles to be followed. Strategies and programmes provide details for how policies should be implemented.
• Development of national policies has several steps from initial idea through consultation to final approval by parliament and publication.
• The Constitution has several articles that safeguard the environment and public health.
• The Health Policy of 1993 established the overall direction for health services in Ethiopia. This has been developed in several strategies and programmes, including HSDP IV and the National Health and Hygiene Strategy.
• The Water Resources Management Policy and Proclamation set out the principles and practice for fair and efficient use of water.
• Ethiopia’s Programme of Adaptation to Climate Change and the Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy seek to adapt to and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change respectively.
• Several proclamations provide the legal framework to support the goals and principles set out in the Environmental Policy of Ethiopia.
• Unlike previous programmes for WASH improvement, the One WASH National Programme takes a unified and collaborative approach to addressing the challenges of water and sanitation in Ethiopia.