Only a third of residents in the Borena Zone of Oromia, Ethiopia's largest province, have access to clean and safe drinking water. A $20,000 contribution from TPRF is helping to fund a water purification program in the region. This program directly reduces the incidence of waterborne diseases among the local population, giving about 10,000 people a better chance for a healthy, productive life.

Leading the effort on the ground is AmeriCares, a nonprofit global health and disaster international relief organization, that delivers aid to people in crisis around the world. TPRF also partnered with AmeriCares to alleviate human suffering in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Severe drought across the Horn of Africa continues to strain the resources of local and international relief organizations. In countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya, the situation is aggravated by the influx of some 7.5 million Somali refugees, fleeing political turmoil with little more than the clothes on their backs.

The Borena Zone is still struggling to absorb the 50,000 Ethiopian farmers from overpopulated areas selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2004 for voluntary resettlement. Persistent drought and famine have led to conflict between these new residents and the zone's native population.

According to Ethiopia's Central Statistical Agency, only 32% of the total population of Oromia, Ethiopia's largest province, has access to safe drinking water. Through its Africa Disaster Relief Fund's Clean Water Initiative, AmeriCares is mounting a large-scale emergency response.

"With TPRF funds, AmeriCares will provide 2,000 households, or about 10,000 people, with two sachets per day of PuR, a water purification agent, for a period of three months. PuR is a powder that, when mixed with contaminated water, removes many pollutants, viruses, and bacteria.

"Two sachets will purify 20 liters of water, which is more than the minimum of 15 liters recommended by humanitarian emergency guidelines," said Ella R. Gudwin, AmeriCare's vice president of emergency response.

She said PuR distribution will specifically target households relying on muddy pond water. AmeriCares' partners in the area will provide training and demonstrations to make sure that the recipients know how to use the sachets and will also contribute materials necessary to complete the purification process, such as pails and clean cloth to use as strainers. Monitoring is also in place to ensure that families are using the powder appropriately.

This is the fourth grant TPRF has made this year to underwrite humanitarian initiatives in the Horn of Africa.

"The Horn of Africa famine has not attracted the kind of donor engagement that such a catastrophic event might otherwise engender," Gudwin said. "I believe people see anything related to Somalia as a lost cause, and many innocent people both in Somalia and the surrounding drought-affected countries continue to suffer. For this reason, we are especially thankful for this grant from TPRF and the sense of hope that it inspires in desperate circumstances."

Photo credit: Sonya Sagan/Oxfam

See press release: TPRF to Aid Water Purification in Horn of Africa