Ethiopia Sustainable WASH Access Program

pipeline

Prospective

ESWAP will support the scale-up of improved water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) services in rural and urban areas of Ethiopia, building on the OWNP Consolidated WASH Account (CWA) platform — a sector-wide pooled financing mechanism involving the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE), Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Education (MoE), and Ministry of Finance (MoF), alongside multiple DPs. The project is planned to be structured as a hybrid Program-for-Results (PforR) and Investment Project Financing (IPF) instrument with total expected IDA financing of US$250 million and US$60 million from the Government. Discussions are ongoing with various DPs and it is anticipated that various DPs may finance a further approximately US$200 million, to be confirmed at a later date. ESWAP will be organized around three result areas. Result Area 1 covers sector program, strategy and institution development — including sector policy and regulatory reform, WaSH data management, and institutional systems for sustainable service delivery. Result Area 2 covers sustainable and climate-resilient WaSH development, including provision of access to basic rural and urban WSS services, enhancement of the sustainability of rural water supply systems, institutional WaSH for schools and health facilities. Result Area 3 will focus on operational efficiency, including sanitation service expansion in urban WSS utilities (Addis Ababa and secondary cities). The IPF component will finance program management support, an Independent Verification Agent (IVA), support to the Water Development Fund, support to the Ethiopia Water Technology Institute (EWTI), and a national sanitation and behavior change campaign.ESWAP is fully aligned with the OWNP Phase III Government Program (2025–2030) and the Government of Ethiopia's broader development agenda. It also aligns with all four pillars of the Accelerating Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region (P512763) Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach (MPA): WASH Platforms and Investment Planning; Governance and Regulatory Reform; Service Delivery Improvement; and Financing Climate-Resilient Infrastructure. ESWAP is aligned with both the existing Country Partnership Framework (CPF) (FY18–FY22) and the draft CPF (FY27–37). Under the current CPF, ESWAP directly advances Objective 2.3 — Increased access to improved water and sanitation — which recognizes safe water access as critical for health, nutrition, labor productivity, and reducing the burden on women. Under the draft CPF (FY27–37), which anchors all WBG investments in Ethiopia's central challenge of job creation, ESWAP contributes to Outcome 4 (Strengthened Health and Nutrition for All) and Outcome 3 (Reduced Learning Poverty), while supporting the jobs agenda by improving the health and productivity of the workforce. The program's focus on climate-resilient infrastructure, financially sustainable service delivery, and equitable access in underserved communities further reflects the CPF's cross-cutting resilience agenda.

World Bank Group

Project

Water Supply and Storage, Government, Education, Commercial