Water Supply and Sanitation in Ethiopia - Responsibility For Water Supply and Sanitation

Responsibility For Water Supply and Sanitation

For more details see: Regions of Ethiopia

In order to understand responsibilities in the sector it is necessary to provide a brief overview of local government in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a federal state consisting of the following subdivisions:

• nine ethnically based regions or Kililoch with a population between 200,000 and 25 million each;
• 68 Zones with a population between 100,000 and a few million each;
• 550 Woredas or districts, with a population between 10,000 and more than 300,000 each;
• A large number of Kebeles, which constitute the smallest administrative units in Ethiopia.

In addition to the nine regions there are two “chartered cities”, (Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa), where the lower-level administrative units mentioned above do not exist. There is wide disparity in development and institutional capacity between regions and also within regions. The Amhara, Oromia, Tigray regions as well as the small Harari region are relatively developed. About 70% of Ethiopians live in these four regions. The Southern Nations, where about 20% of the population lives, is very heterogenous. In the more pastoralist and remote “emerging” regions Somali, Afar, Gambela and Benishangul-Gumuz, where about 10% of the population lives, capacity tends to be lowest.