Skip to main content

Published on: 21/06/2021

This article is written by: Abireham Misganaw, Federal Ministry of Health

The implementation guideline launched during world toilet day celebration (photo by: Tsegaye Yeshiwas)

The implementation guideline launched during world toilet day celebration (photo by: Tsegaye Yeshiwas)

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health, in collaboration with non-governmental partners, recently developed and launched the National Market-Based Sanitation Implementation Guideline. According to Dr. Dereje Duguma, State Minister of the Ministry of Health, ‘’The guideline aims to facilitate the development of sustainable sanitation and hygiene markets whereby households have access to a broader range of quality, affordable and preferred basic sanitation and hygiene products and services from private-sector suppliers at accessible delivery outlets.’’

The guideline, the first major revision of the National Sanitation Marketing Guideline published in 2013, was launched on November 19, 2020 during World Toilet Day events. To properly implement the national market-based sanitation guideline, the ministry and its partners also developed the national market-based sanitation training manual.

Since November 19, 2020, the Ministry and the USAID Transform WASH project have been delivering a series of training sessions for trainers from 30 regional and other WASH sector organisations as part of their support for a market-based approach to sanitation. So far, a total of 114 woredas (districts) have received training (24 in the Amhara region, 13 in the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples region (SNNPR), 45 in the Oromia, 10 in Somali, eight in Sidama, four in the Gambela, six in Benishangul Gumuz, and four in Dire Dawa municipality).

86 districts that received training were awarded 151,500 birr to build sanitation centres. Previously, as part of on-going support for market-based sanitation, an additional 50 districts received financial support for market-based sanitation.  48 of them trained young entrepreneurs, provided working sites, and launched 65 sanitation marketing centres.

The Ministry of Health is planning to strengthen market-based sanitation by:

  • reinforcing market-based sanitation training;
  • strengthening sanitation market centres;
  • advocating and working with financial institutions to provide sanitation services for low- and middle-income households;
  • providing a subsidy protocol for poor households;
  • developing a sanitation, hygiene, and environmental health policy; and
  • conducting a study on approaches of sanitation and hygiene practice.

In the second Health Sector Transformation Plan, the Ministry of Health aims to increase the proportion of households with access to basic sanitation services from 20% in 2019 to 60% in 2025, through market-based hygiene, sanitation and environmental health facilities and an inclusive market-based approach.

Back to
the top