Building a Supportive Environment: COWASH IV Concludes Menstrual Hygiene Management Training in Sidama
COWASH IV, in collaboration with the Sidama Bureau of Education, successfully conducted a four-day menstrual hygiene management (MHM) training in Yirgalem City from December 12th to 15th, 2023. This comprehensive program equipped 30 participants, including school directors, teachers, health workers, and experts for woreda and regional bureaus, with essential skills to create a more supportive environment for girls and women in the region.
The training, led by COWASH IV national consultant Alehubel Alemaw, tackled crucial topics like life skills development, dispelling myths and taboos surrounding menstruation, and practical sessions on designing and producing reusable sanitary pads. This knowledge empowers participants to address the challenges faced by girls and women during their menstrual cycle, fostering a more open and understanding environment.
Participants gained valuable skills in producing affordable and hygienic reusable menstrual products, promoting self-reliance and economic opportunities. This knowledge, particularly for teachers and health extension workers, enables them to cascade their learnings within their communities, creating a ripple effect of positive change.
Meheret Philipose, a passionate health worker from Wondo Genet woreda, expressed her eagerness to share her newfound knowledge with mothers during her house visits, making menstrual hygiene accessible to all. Similarly, Hamaro Hamiso, a visionary secondary school director from Chirone Woreda, plans to train students and establish pad production in his school, ensuring girls’ well-being and uninterrupted education.
MHM education is crucial for achieving gender equality and promoting overall well-being. COWASH IV’s impactful program is paving the way for a future where menstrual health is not a barrier, but a source of empowerment for women and girls in Ethiopia.
COWASH IV works in five woredas across Sidama Region, actively focusing on MHM initiatives in Wondogenet, Arbegona, and Chirone. Through collaborative efforts with the regional government, COWASH IV provides MHM awareness creation, sanitary pad production training, and construction of MHM facilities in schools within these woredas, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to creating lasting change.
COWASH IV First Regional Support Unit Knowledge Sharing Workshop Held in Hawassa
COWASH IV Provides on-the-Job Training to Small-Scale Microfinance Enterprises in Sidama Region
COWASH IV provided a four-day Training of Trainers Workshop in Tarcha town in South West Ethiopia People’s Region.
COWASH IV in Tigray: Bringing Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Hope to a Region Recovering from Conflict
COWASH IV Tigray Regional Steering Committee Holds First Meeting
COWASH IV has Provided safe Water Supply to Over 41,700 people in Sidama Region in the past Ethiopian fiscal year.
The Community-Led Accelerated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Project (COWASH IV) has provided safe drinking water to over 41,700 people in the Sidama Region in the past Ethiopian fiscal year.
This was announced at the COWASH IV regional support unit (RSU) annual performance review and 2016 plan approval meeting, held in Yirgalm city on Thursday (September 14). Around 80 participants attended the meeting, including the five project woreda leaders and concerned focal persons.
In 2015, various activities, including construction of water supply schemes, school and health water supply and latrine facilities (institutional WASH), and capacity and physical capacity building has been carried out under the project.
The Sidama COWASH IV Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Yitbarek Aragaw, announced that 77 community water supply schemes were constructed in 2015EFY, providing safe drinking water for 34,443 people in the region. In addition, nine water supply points and six latrines were constructed for schools and health centers under the institutional WASH program in 2015. These have provided safe water supply for around 7,265 people in schools.
The project has also facilitated the construction of 2,181 household latrines, according to Leta Etama, the RSU team leader. The project’s small-scale community-managed approach has greatly benefited the rural community, particularly in the construction of standard latrines in schools and health institutions, and in securing water supply access, said Leta.
Participants at the meeting raised the delay of matching funds and reporting, as well as increased inflation, as the main challenges that prevented the project from being fully implemented as planned in the last fiscal year.
Despite these challenges, the project’s work is making significant progress in providing safe drinking water to people in rural areas of the Sidama Region. Particularly, the project’s small-scale community-managed project approach (CMP) is helping to ensure that the water supply systems are sustainable and that the communities take ownership of them. COWASH IV plans to continue providing water, sanitation, and hygiene to rural areas of Sidama Region, targeting to benefit an additional 57,670 people.
The Community-Led Accelerated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Project (COWASH IV) is a bilateral project between the governments of Ethiopia and Finland that is working to improve water and sanitation services in rural Ethiopia. Sidama is one of the eight regions covered by the project.
A great week in Helsinki
A COWASH IV delegation of 15 people from four Ethiopian Ministries (Finance, Water and Energy, Education and Health) and the Office of the Prime Minister spent a wonderful week in Finland. Delegates attended a project National Steering Committee meeting together with a presentation on the outcome of the Mid-term Evaluation.
During the week the delegates had an opportunity to meet personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. At a networking event hosted by the Finnish Water Forum, the delegation met several different Finnish companies. Thank you HSY, Mankettigroup, Ecolet, GTK, Dewaxo, Valmet, and SYKE for joining the event. The conversation was valuable and hopefully, there will be future business between Finland and Ethiopia as a result.
The visit included two study tour days, involving visits to FIWA, FMI, Lahti Aqua, the Hennala stormwater system and the HSY Viikinmäki wastewater treatment facility. Our delegates enjoyed all the visits with great knowledge transfer. Thank you all for having us.
The visit to Finland was educational and expansive. Our delegates enjoyed visiting the country that has helped their people in rural areas for many decades. In all meetings, the delegates thanked Finland and hoped that the excellent cooperation would continue in the future as well.
COWASH IV Steering Committee Meeting in Helsinki
A National WASH Steering Committee Meeting on the Community–led Accelerated WASH IV (COWASH IV) was held in Helsinki, Finland, on 28 August 2023. This was the first time in COWASH history that a steering committee was held outside of Ethiopia.
From Ethiopia, a delegation of 20 delegates joined the meeting. The participants were from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Water and Energy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Embassy of Finland in Ethiopia, and the Federal Technical Assistant Team on COWASH IV. Dr. Minna Hares from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, who is the Program Officer for the project in Finland joined the meeting.
The National WASH Steering Committee Meeting was led by H.E. Ambassador Asfaw Dingamo. Among the participants were H.E. W/ro Semerita Sewasew, H.E. Dr. Fenta Mandefro, and H.E. W/ro Almaz Messele. In the meeting, important discussions were made on the current situation and the future of the COWASH project.
The Ethiopian delegation will stay in Finland for six days and will have meetings, for example, with Mr. Ville Tavio, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, and with the Africa and Middle East Department of Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The week includes a networking event hosted by the Finnish Water Forum and study tour days in Finnish water facilities.
This week’s mission will strengthen the cooperation between Finland and Ethiopia in the Water Sector dating back some 29 years. Water is important for both nations and both have international initiatives including Water Diplomacy and Human Rights.
Approval of 2015 Regional Reports
Today, the 22nd of August, all seven COWASH IV regions joined for a Joint National/Regional Steering Committee meeting in Addis Ababa.
In the meeting, all the Annual Performance Reports for Ethiopian Financial Year 2015 from each region were approved. With this approval, the funds from the Govenment of Finland for Q1 and Q2 can now be distributed to the project regions. This means that the money from Finland is distributed to the project regions five to six months earlier than last year.
At the end of the meeting, the new project vehicles funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland were handed over by Ambassador Asfaw, State Minister of Water and Energy, Lari Peltonen, Embassy of Finland, Deputy Head of Mission, and Sami Frestadius, Embassy on Finland, Senior Specialist, for the Regional Support Units in each region. These vehicles will help to better facilitate the implementation of WASH development in the rural Woredas of Ethiopia.
