Project area Ankober

Ankober is one of the 23 districts of the North Shoa Zone and was once the seat of the Kingdom of Shoa. The region lies at the entrance to the African Rift Valley and was on the trade route that led from the Afar Plain to the highlands. The main town of Gorbela lies 172 kilometres north-east of Addis Ababa. Over 110,000 people live in Ankober, spread over 673 square kilometres between the highlands and the lowlands towards Afar.

Project start: 2021
Area: 673 m²
Population: approx. 110,000
Location: approx. 172 km north-east of Addis Ababa

The region is poorly developed and many of the 19 municipalities are not accessible by car. As a result, they are denied many developments and access to markets is difficult. The vast majority of the inhabitants live from agriculture, the yields from which are barely sufficient to survive. Just half of the population has access to clean drinking water, while the other half has to fetch water from unprotected sources, which are also used by animals. Seven of the communities have no access to clean drinking water at all. This results in diarrhoea, which can be fatal, especially for children.

Most of the 43 schools in Ankober are made of wood and clay and are therefore victims of termites and the weather. Due to a lack of furniture, many of the children have to sit on the bare floor during lessons.

The health facilities in the region are poorly equipped with medicines and medical supplies, and the staff are not adequately trained, meaning that the population does not receive sufficient care.

The women in Ankober are responsible for the household, the children, fetching water and firewood and helping in the fields, but have hardly any income of their own. They are often victims of traditional customs such as circumcision, early marriage or violence by men.