Money into water and water into money in the RiPPLE project in Ethiopia

In one of the previous issues of the MUS Group Newsletter, we reported about the start of the DfID-funded RiPPLE project in Ethiopia. The slogan of the project is “money into water, and water into money”. It looks into sustainable financing mechanisms for rural water supply (money into water), as well as into the ‘big question’ of ‘how investments in water supply and sanitation contribute to the government’s wider objectives of economic growth and poverty reduction and the subsequent implications for WSS sector policy and programming (water into money). To answer the second part of the question, the project currently looks into the relationships between access to water services and growth and poverty reduction. This is done at a macro, through analysis of general development indicators, and micro level, through analysis of household level data and case studies. These studies are expected to last until March 2008. After that, a second phase will start of long term action-research focused on assisting implementers to develop water supply and sanitation interventions which help better protect poor households against livelihood shocks and promote food security and productivity. This will be carried out through so-called Learning and Practice Alliances (LPAs).

For more information, contact Tom Slaymaker (t.slaymaker@odi.org.uk), or have a look at the RiPPLE website www.rippleethiopia.org