The Government of Japan partners with the ILO to support disaster resilience through waterworks restoration in Ethiopia
The Government of Japan has contributed US$ 1.1 million to the ILO’s response to enhance disaster resilience through the employment-intensive restoration of waterworks in the city of Jijiga and among refugee-hosting communities of Kebribeyah in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia.
Drought and flood are two of the major natural hazards in Ethiopia, causing significant damage to peoples’ lives and livelihoods in all of districts of Somali region. Recurring natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic have aggravated existing socio-economic challenges. In particular, floods have considerable environmental and health consequences as they can reduce domestic water supplies and damage sanitation infrastructure.
In response to this situation, the ILO will support the construction of a micro dam and detention pond with water reservoir capacity. By relying on local labour, the project will equip local communities with skills in construction and enhance their employability, while ensuring that water supply systems and sanitation facilities are safe and accessible. Bridging the humanitarian-development nexus, the project will also transfer data collected in a Geographic Information System (GIS) database and mapping tools to the Government for recording, analyzing and predicting flood events to effectively manage and reduce future occurrences of disaster in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
These activities, build on the ILO’s 48 years of experience in delivering quality infrastructure using employment-intensive methods around the world as part of the ILO’s flagship programme on Jobs for Peace and Resilience to enhance social cohesion and disaster risk reduction through decent jobs.
To further strengthen their cooperation and discuss the launch of this new initiative, H.E. Ms. ITO Takako, Japanese Ambassador to Ethiopia, and Mr. Alexio Musindo, the ILO Country Office Director for Ethiopia, held a bilateral discussion on the ongoing partnership in early March 2021.
During the discussion, Ambassador Ito noted that the “Japanese government has provided $1.1 Million for the ILO to build resilience, reduce the economic, social and environmental impacts of floods through public works, as well as enhance livelihoods and employment for IDPs and host communities in Somali region, Ethiopia. I hope that the project will help peace and stability in Ethiopia and surrounding countries.” She added that ”This bilateral meeting is important for me to know what the ILO has been planning to do and for better collaboration between the ILO and the Government of Japan.”
Emphasizing the importance of enhancing disaster resilience in the Somali region of Ethiopia, Mr. Musindo stated that the “ILO’s cooperation with the partners like the Government of Japan will help us reinforce our support for capacity building, entrepreneurship and skills development for local institutions as well as promote social dialogue among the government, workers and employers for better job creation opportunities.”
The project is fully aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 8 “Decent Work and Economic growth” and Goal 6 “Water and Sanitation for All”, as well as the Yokohama Declaration of Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development (TICAD) 7 and G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment.
For further details, please contact:
- Mr. Alexio Musindo, ILO Country Office Director for Ethiopia, musindo(at)ilo.org
- Mr. Jean-Yves Barba; ILO Project Manager, barba(at)ilo.org