Ethiopia has political ambition on water and sanitation and national targets and commitment from the ministries as witnessed by OWNP. Yet investment decisions were reactive, shaped by prioritised projects rather than based on a long‑term vision.
For Riva, the role of a trusted advisor is clear: help a government turn its own ambitions into something concrete and investable.
The work began in 2019, when we started building the evidence base for WASH financing reform – working with four ministries and partners in the Agenda for Change initiative on a national systems analysis and costed district master plans. The Ministry of Water and Energy also established a national WASH finance working group to complement this work.
We've been building evidence from the ground up since 2019: costed district master plans, funding plans, and budget tracking that showed what universal, sustainable services would actually cost. Those district-level learnings fed directly into national finance strategy and implementation.
The recommendations were to: increase sector funding, adopt life-cycle cost financing, define who sets tariffs, mobilise domestic resources, and create national standards for service delivery. Consensus formed around the need for a national strategy.
As co-chair of the national water, sanitation and hygiene financing working group, Riva played a central role in what followed – convening the working group, supporting the strategy’s development through national stakeholders' engagement alongside government and partners, and presenting it at national and sub-national levels. The strategy that emerged was Ethiopia’s – owned and led by four ministries, with Riva as the advisor that helped connect the dots.
The human storyA national strategy only matters if it changes something real on the ground. In South Ari Woreda (a woreda is similar to a district), you can see what that looks like.
In 2021, the Woreda was the first to endorse its own water and sanitation master plan – a government-owned, costed pathway to universal access by 2030. For Yohanis Melti, head of the Woreda Water Office, the planning process changed how decisions were made: “It helped the government and the community gain more information” – a clear picture of where services were failing and why.
That understanding gave him the ability to make the case for resources with evidence, to supervise service providers with confidence, and to engage communities as partners rather than recipients. Service levels are improving, and South Ari’s plan now serves as a model for other Ethiopian districts.
What changedEthiopia now has a national financing strategy for water, sanitation and hygiene, that can be used by districts and towns across the country. A costed, coherent investment strategy to tell government, districts and international partners how much is needed, where it should come from, and who is responsible for what. It gives districts like South Ari a national framework to work within, and investment partners the clarity and confidence they need.
What is nextWater and sanitation in Ethiopia is no longer only a one-sector conversation. It is becoming central to national planning and economic development.
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