Impact Story
Snapshot from 2025: Ethiopia
South Ari: eight years of systems strengthening are paying off
We’ve been working with South Ari district since 2017, supporting local government to move beyond short-term infrastructure fixes towards stronger rural water systems. From the outset, the emphasis has been on planning, monitoring, financing and water resources management – building the conditions for sustainable service delivery.
A turning point came when the district chose to develop its own water and sanitation master plan – led and owned by the district Water and Energy Office, supported by our tools and facilitation. The plan has become a practical guide for budgeting, annual planning and reporting – and a foundation for long-term decision-making.
In 2025, this investment paid off. When water quality tests mid-year showed that drinking water failed WHO standards, district authorities acted quickly, implementing Water Safety Plans. Within seven months, water quality improved through frequent chlorination, protection of water sources, enforcement of safety regulations and communities taking ownership.
The results reflect deeper change. Since the master plan was completed in 2019, water service coverage in South Ari has increased from 21% to 40%. Building block assessments now show most system components rated green – in 2017 they were mostly red and orange.
As district leadership and community members emphasised during our video of Shishir Kebele’s water journey, the difference lies in ownership and mindset.
South Ari’s experience has since spread - all woredas in the zone now have their own master plans and a cloud-based monitoring system.
Blue: partner areas; Orange: scaling areas
The community mobilisation improved community awareness and reduced dependency on the woreda government budget alone.
Ajele Getu, Head of the South Ari Water and Energy Office
| 56% | water |
| 10% | sanitation |
| 6% | hygiene |
| 12 | staff |
| 9 | projects |
| 666 | thousand euro project revenue |
| 2 | partner areas |
| 513,249 | population of partner areas |