Responding to Urban Water Challenges: Kechene Ethiopia
Kechene, a slum area in Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa is home to nearly 50,000 people. It has high levels of poverty, poor housing and illiteracy.
Access to clean water and adequate sanitation is also very limited, only 29 per cent of people use improved sanitation facilities.
These conditions lead to death and sickness from water-borne diseases like cholera, typhoid and diarrhea – a leading killer of children under five.
To tackle these problems AMREF began working with the community, the local water and sanitation authority and the city administration.
AMREF’s Work 
In just three years AMREF and the community have had a profound impact rehabilitating two fresh water springs and building five water storage tanks, community showers, taps and toilets as well as washrooms and hand-washing facilities at the local elementary school.
But in addition to structural improvements, like all AMREF programs, the most critical priority is ensuring clean water and adequate sanitation will last for future generations.
Seven water and sanitation committees have been elected by the community consisting of six members each, four who must be women. The committees ensure water and sanitation sources are sustainable while teaching their community about water-related diseases as well as personal and family hygiene.
Emphasizing women’s participation challenges traditional gender roles. The Kechene initiative also saves women valuable time eliminating the need to travel long distances to collect water. Women now use this time for income generating activities to help support their families.
This program has brought clean water and improved sanitation facilities to 30,000 Kechene residents.
Find out more about AMREF's work in:
Kenya
South Africa
Southern Sudan
Tanzania
Uganda
