The program will provide access to climate-resilient and gender-sensitive integrated and sustainable water and sanitation services to pastoralist communities in the dryland areas of the Borana area of the Oromia Region, improving health, livelihoods, nutrition, and food security. The program will contribute to the Water Resources Development plan of the Government of Ethiopia to increase the share of rural residents with access to 25 liters of water per person per day, within one kilometer from 55 to 100%, and provide potable water and sanitation services to all education and health facilities by 2030. It also will benefit the Oromia Regional Development Plan, which emphasizes water as an entry point and an enabler in strengthening food security, fostering import substitution, raising the value of agricultural exports, and creating jobs.

The program is structured in two components. The first focuses on financing investments in climate-resilient water infrastructure, including groundwater development in the Gelchet wellfield, construction of water supply routes, water storage, and livestock watering facilities. The second concentrates on financing integrated watershed management and institutional strengthening, with a focus on community-led soil and water conservation measures aimed at protecting water sources, reducing landscape degradation, and revitalizing the landscape.