The role of legalizing water sanitation and hygiene committees on the sustainability of rural water supply schemes in Kindo Koyesha District, Ethiopia

The Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples Regional State (SNNPR) has adopted a new community management structure of rural water supply scheme in 2012. It shifted the responsibility of managing the water facilities from the existed committees, WASHCOs, to WASH Association and Federation and provided legal entity to them. The Kindo Koyesha District with the support of UNICEF has successfully set up the new management structure across the district in the year 2013. A total of 210 WASH Associations for each facilities and 23 Federations who are coordinating the activities of the committees were established. Since the functioning of the new structure in 2013 the district has witnessed improvement in collection and utilization of users’ contribution, reduction of non-functional water schemes and improved monitoring and reporting system. However these can only be sustained if continued support is provided from the government at all level and other partners.