British MPs visit Ethiopia to assess Water and Sanitation Provision

(01/02/07)

Press Release by the British Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the UK Department for International Development

Eleven Members of the British Parliament are today arriving in Ethiopia to assess the effectiveness of aid for water and sanitation provision. The group are members of the UK Parliament’s International Development Select Committee which is carrying out an inquiry into water and sanitation in developing countries. 

The Committee is assessing the effectiveness of UK funding for water and sanitation projects around the world. The Committee will make recommendations on how DFID’s water and sanitation programme can contribute more towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation by 2015. They want to visit Ethiopia because of the size and importance of the country in meeting global water and sanitation targets.  By the end of 2007, Ethiopia will be the highest recipient of the UK Department for International Development’s (DFID) aid for Africa. 

The Committee will visit water and sanitation projects in Hosaena, Butajira and Alaba to see first-hand the difficulties faced by people in accessing adequate water and sanitation and will assess the effectiveness of such projects in providing solutions.  As well as meeting local people, and district and federal officials involved in water and sanitation, the Committee hopes to meet Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the Ministers for Water Resources and Health.  The Committee will also meet representatives of the EU, World Bank and African Development Bank in Addis Ababa.

Looking forward to the visit, the Chairman of the International Development Committee, Malcolm Bruce, MP, said,

“With the UN predicting that the average supply of water per person will drop by a third in the next 20 years, it is vital that the international community makes more rapid progress in addressing the lack of water and sanitation provision. The Committee hopes that what we see in Ethiopia will help us identify a variety of  effective ways of providing safe drinking water and preventing widespread disease through the proper management of waste water, so that best practice can be spread to other developing countries. Access to clean water and sanitation are basic human requirements, and are crucial to many aspects of poverty reduction, including improved health and sustainable economic and social development.”

The International Development Select Committee will be in Ethiopia from 2 to 7 February. Its report, based on the visit to Ethiopia and a number of evidence sessions held in the UK, will be published later in the year.

Further Information

The membership of the Committee is as follows: Malcolm Bruce MP (Chairman, Liberal Democrat), John Barrett MP (Lib Dem), John Battle MP (Labour), John Bercow MP (Conservative), Hugh Bayley MP (Lab), Richard Burden MP (Lab), Mr Quentin Davies MP (Con), James Duddridge MP (Con), Ann McKechin MP (Lab), Joan Ruddock MP (Lab), Mr Marsha Singh (Lab).

ENDS