According to bank provided information, the objective of the project is to improve access to sustainable and climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene services for beneficiaries in target areas across all six zobas of Eritrea. More specifically, the project aims to expand and rehabilitate rural water-supply infrastructure; improve access to safe water within approximately 500 metres of households; improve WASH facilities in healthcare centres and schools; strengthen community-based management of water services; protect and restore catchment areas; improve groundwater monitoring and climate-risk information; and strengthen the institutional and technical capacity for sustainable water-resources management. The project is also intended to strengthen the resilience of communities to drought, erratic rainfall, declining groundwater resources and other climate-related shocks through climate-resilient infrastructure, groundwater recharge, ecosystem restoration, hydrometeorological monitoring and solar-powered water systems.

The Enhancing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Adaptation Project in Eritrea is a sovereign water and sanitation operation designed to improve access to sustainable and climate-resilient WASH services across all six zobas of Eritrea: Debub, Maekel, Anseba, Gash Barka, Northern Red Sea and Southern Red Sea. The project responds to water scarcity, recurrent droughts, declining groundwater levels, deteriorating water quality and limited access to reliable water and sanitation services. The project is structured around three components: (i) Resilient WASH Infrastructure Development; (ii) Climate Adaptation Investments; and (iii) Capacity Building and Project Management. Under the first component, the project will construct 21 new rural water supply systems and rehabilitate and upgrade 38 non-functional rural water supply systems. It will also rehabilitate and upgrade WASH facilities in 10 healthcare centres and 12 schools, and establish community-based WASH management and water safety planning in 59 villages. The water infrastructure will include climate-resilient solutions designed to improve the reliability and sustainability of water services. The second component will finance climate adaptation and watershed management interventions, including the construction of check dams, groundwater recharge ponds and terraces, as well as tree planting in catchment areas. It will also support a national hydro-census survey, groundwater assessment and mapping, groundwater depletion studies, installation and upgrading of hydrometeorological and hydrogeological stations, assessment of irrigation water-use efficiency, mapping of groundwater recharge and water-quality deterioration, and development of a strategy for climate-resilient water supply and water-resources management. At least 50,000 trees are expected to be planted as part of the ecosystem restoration and catchment protection activities. The third component will strengthen institutional and operational capacity through project management, monitoring and evaluation, safeguards, financial management and technical capacity building. It will also finance two drilling rigs, two air compressors, two fully equipped mobile garage packages and two pickup vehicles, establish a water-supply coverage database, provide IT equipment and training, and facilitate knowledge exchange on climate adaptation. The total project cost is estimated at USD 14.744 million, equivalent to UA 10.755 million. The African Development Fund, through the Climate Action Window, will provide a grant of approximately USD 9.824 million, equivalent to UA 7.166 million, representing about 67% of the project cost. UNICEF will provide USD 3 million, representing about 21%, while the Government of the State of Eritrea will contribute USD 1.92 million, equivalent to approximately UA 1.4 million, representing about 13% of the total cost. The Government contribution will be provided mainly in kind through community labour, local materials, land, office space, equipment, staff time and salaries. The grant recipient and implementing agency is UNICEF, while the Ministry of Land, Water and Environment is the executing agency. The project implementation period is planned from October 2026 to December 2030.

Name: Benson Bumbe NKHOMA

Email: b.nkhoma@afdb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBÕs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/