COWASH IV National Steering Committee Concludes End of Year Meeting
7 September 2026
The meeting opened with remarks from State Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation, Dr. Ambassador Asfaw Dingamo and Embassy of Finland Head of Cooperation Mr Tomi Särkioja, who highlighted the ongoing partnership and success of the project.
COWASH IV’s Chief Technical Advisor Neil Chadder presented the project’s key achievements from the past fiscal year, outlined upcoming targets and shared strategic insights to optimize implementation for EFY 2019. Committee members commended the project’s strong performance and engaged in productive discussions to refine the operational roadmap for the current fiscal year. Dr. Ambassador Asfaw emphasized the importance of the operational roadmap presented by the Chief Technical Advisor for ensuring successful project performance in EFY 2019.
During EFY 2018 alone, the project constructed and rehabilitated 1,454 community water points, benefiting 365,074 people. This brought total cumulative beneficiaries to 1,375,218 people, surpassing the initial project target of 1.1 million. This achievement was warmly applauded by committee members for its extensive impact on rural communities.
COWASH IV also constructed water supply schemes in 275 schools and improved latrines in 44 schools, benefiting 196,436 students and staff. Other key institutional achievements include construction of water points in 183 health posts alongside improved latrines in 84 health posts, capacity building training programmes reaching 20,165 people, the establishment of 208 WASH Saving and Loan Associations and the construction of Menstrual Hygiene Management centers across 52 schools.
Following the national meeting, Regional Steering committee meetings have been scheduled, with the South-West Ethiopia People’s Region wrapping up the first one on September 7, 2026.
COWASH IV National Steering Committee members include partner ministries: the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Water and Energy, alongside the Embassy of Finland. Mikaela Kruskopf, Project Manager at NIRAS International and COWASH Home Office Coordinator, also attended the meeting.
As COWASH IV enters EFY 2019 the project remains committed to strengthening rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services and leaving a sustainable legacy for communities across Ethiopia.