A health center serving more than 35,000 people
Every morning, Katere Kaniko arrives at Zada Health Center carrying buckets.
As the facility’s cleaner, she spent much of her day fetching and rationing water instead of cleaning rooms and helping maintain a safe environment for patients. For three years, this was the reality at Zada Health Center in Dita Woreda, Gamo Zone Southern Ethiopia Region. More than 35,000 people depended on the facility for healthcare, yet there was no reliable water supply.
The shortage affected everyone. Laboratory technicians struggled to wash equipment properly, health workers worried about infection risks, and patients received care in a facility that could not meet basic hygiene standards. Staff felt frustrated and embarrassed, knowing they could not provide the level of care their community deserved.
Three years without reliable water
The lack of water touched every corner of the health center. In the maternity ward, laboratory, emergency unit, and consultation rooms, staff worked without one of the most basic tools needed to provide safe healthcare.
Katere spent hours each day carrying water from a rope pump and distributing it room by room. Katere said, “The water shortage was unbearable. I fetched water room by room all day. It was exhausting. I could not clean the rooms or toilets properly. I wished someone would restore the system.”
The health center was also spending around 500 ETB every day to transport water, placing an additional burden on already limited resources.
A fast repair with lasting impact
When the maintenance and management team visited the facility, they found that the problem was not a lack of water in the area, but a water system that had stopped functioning properly.
Through the ARISE Project, NALA partnered with the Woreda Water Office, Woreda Health Office, and the health center staff to restore the system. Together, they repaired damaged infrastructure, reconnected the water line to the correct pressure point, restored sinks and handwashing stations, and brought the facility’s water reservoir back into use.
After three years without reliable water, the entire system was restored in just two and a half days.
Clean water, safer care, restored dignity
The difference was immediate.
Katere no longer spends her days carrying buckets from room to room. Abebe the lab technician can now safely wash his hands and clean laboratory equipment. Health workers can focus on treating patients instead of searching for water or even worse risk their patients safety.
Today, clean water flows throughout the facility. Handwashing stations are functional, hygiene standards have improved, and staff can provide care with greater confidence and safety.
For the people working at Zada Health Center, the restoration of water was about much more than pipes and taps. It was about dignity. It was about being able to do their jobs properly and provide the quality of care their community deserves.
“We reported the issue many times, but the reservoir was connected to the wrong pressure line. Water never reached the tanks. We were ashamed when visitors came. Sometimes words are not enough. You saved our health center. You protected us. You restored dignity and care for our community.”
Ato Eyob Dodo, Health Center Manager