The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund has approved, on 15 July, a $9.3 million grant aimed at strengthening climate resilience, improving water security and boosting food production in vulnerable communities across Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The Climate Proof Water4Food Project is an integrated water and agriculture operation to provide critical support to vulnerable communities in Ethiopia's Gambella region and South Sudan's Unity State, regions prone to extreme climate conditions, including flooding, which contribute to food insecurity and human displacement.
The project will construct and/or rehabilitate seven solar powered water supply systems and introduce integrated flood management measures that will provide reliable access to safe drinking water for nearly 80,000 people. It will also support the provision of climate smart agriculture training for more than 100,000 farmers, helping them improve food production while adapting to increasingly unpredictable weather. Approximately 19,300 youth will receive training in agricultural skills, entrepreneurship and development of climate resilient value chains.
"Climate change does not recognise borders, and neither should our solutions," said Mecuria Assefaw, the Bank Group's East Africa Regional Manager for Water Security and Sanitation. "This project brings together water security, climate resilient agriculture and stronger local institutions to help communities rise to achieving resilience. By investing in sustainable systems today, we are creating opportunities for healthier families, more productive farms and stronger local economies for years to come."
Communities will benefit from new sanitation facilities in schools and public institutions, improved hygiene services and women-led local water management committees. Farmers - most of them women - will gain access to improved seeds, agricultural extension services, demonstration farms and climate resilient technologies that increase productivity while protecting natural resources. The project will also restore degraded land through large scale tree planting and watershed rehabilitation and the strengthening of ecosystems.
Better access to safe water will reduce waterborne diseases, improve hygiene and increase school attendance, particularly among girls. Increased agricultural production will strengthen household food security, improve nutrition for women and children and create new sources of income for farming families. Youth will gain practical skills that support employment and entrepreneurship, while stronger community institutions will improve the long-term management of water and agricultural services.
The multinational Climate Proof Water4Food project promotes shared technical standards, cross border learning and coordinated approaches, thereby advancing regional cooperation to manage climate risks that affect communities in both countries.
