In recent years, periods of drought in Ethiopia have increased significantly in both frequency and intensity. Remote regions are particularly affected, where the population lacks access to clean drinking water and water for subsistence agriculture - often the only livelihood for many families. One such region is Adadle Woreda in the Shebelle Zone of the Ethiopian Somali Region, where the effects of ongoing drought are especially severe.
Between 2018 and 2020, the Wilo-Foundation supported a project to improve the drinking water supply in a local community. The association arche noVa – Initiative für Menschen in Not e.V., Dresden (Germany) installed ultrafiltration systems on site and built a water tower to turn the heavily contaminated water of the Shebelle River - the only water source in the region - into clean drinking water. The main sponsor of the project was the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).