Tag: Ethiopia
-
New Paper: Contribution of physical factors to handpump borehole functionality in Africa
The latest from the Hidden Crisis project: Highlights Handpumps are the main water supply for rural communities across sub-Saharan Africa. However, studies show that >25 % of handpumps are non-functional at any time. We present results from a systematic field study of handpump borehole functionality. The study was designed to investigate the contribution of physical…
-
UPGro Hidden Crisis fieldwork done in partnership with WaterAid country teams and with full support of government ministries in Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda, who adopted the survey reports [C8]
Research conducted in Uganda revealed the high rate of pump corrosion to the poorly galvanized iron pipes used for borehole installation. This has enabled WaterAid to deliver this message to the key stakeholders that can effect change to reduce the problem of corrosion. Presentations of research results in National working groups and coordination meetings at…
-
UPGro Impact: responding to declining groundwater levels in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [D5]
Addis Ababa relies on groundwater for more than 60% of its water supply. Water levels are declining significantly. Declining water levels is affecting access to water for some users. Rapid water level decline has led to some shallow community boreholes equipped with handpumps to fail. Old wells fields (e.g. The Old Akaki wellfield) tapping the…
-
New paper: Drinking water quality from rural handpump-boreholes in Africa
Open Access here: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8031 Groundwater provides a vital source of drinking water for rural communities in many parts of Africa, particularly in the dry season when there are few safe alternative sources. This paper summarises results from a study (n = 428) assessing dry season water quality, both microbiological and inorganic chemistry, in handpump equipped…
-
The Conversation: Why drought programmes in Ethiopia should support communal access to groundwater
by Donald John MacAllister, International Development Hydrogeologist, British Geological Survey; Alan MacDonald Professor, British Geological Survey; Seifu Kebede Gurmessam Professor of Hydrology, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UPGro Hidden Crisis) re-posted from The Conversation Like many countries in east Africa, Ethiopia is highly vulnerable to drought. Since 1965, Ethiopia has experienced 15 severe droughts affecting more than 65 million people and…
-
Technical brief now available – Project approach for defining and assessing rural water supply functionality and levels of performance
The Hidden Crisis project team have now published a Technical Brief on the methods developed and used by the project to assess rural water supply functionality and levels of performance – now available from here. This technical brief is aimed at sharing the learning and approaches developed by the project to look at how the…
-
Rural water supply: a political economy analysis
The Hidden Crisis project team examined the political economy of rural water supply (RWS) in Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi during 2017 and 2018. These are based on literature and interviews with government staff and water sector stakeholders to unpick systemic obstacles to sustainable access to water. The three reports summarising the key findings are…
-
Study shows boreholes are key to drought resilience in Ethiopia
BGS Press Release Installing more boreholes to tap underground water will improve rural Ethiopian communities’ resilience to drought, according to a new report. Research carried out by the British Geological Survey (BGS), the University of Addis Ababa and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) showed that people who have access to groundwater from boreholes are much…
-
Different perspectives on ways to make a living from groundwater, in Tanzania and Ethiopia
Lessons from the GroFutures Multi-stakeholder Workshops in the Great Ruaha Basin, Tanzania, and Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia by John Thompson, Imogen Bellwood-Howard, Gebrehaweria, Gebregziabher, Mohammad Shamsudduha, Richard Taylor, Devotha Kilave, Andrew Tarimo and Japhet Kashaigili Identifying and characterising groundwater development pathways More than four years ago, an international group of collaborators embarked…
-
Lord of the Rain: how radio can help African farmers combat drought
The Guardian news website is an excellent short film “Lord of the Rain” that highlights the challenges facing farmers in the remote Omo region of Ethiopia. UPGro is tackling these challenges head-on in Ethiopia, Burkino Faso and elsewhere across Africa.
UPGro 