SFD Report - Bahir Dar, Ethiopia SFD Promotion Initiative

Bahir Dar is a city located northwest Ethiopia with a tropical savannah climate. According to the Town Administration, the population is 318,429 people, where 85% live in the urban and 15% in the peri-urban and rural areas of the city (data from 2012). Economic activities include an expanding textile industry as well as rapidly growing agro-industries. The potential for tourism and real estate development is great in the city due to its naturally attractive environment. Groundwater from the nearby well-field and springs are the main source of drinking water of the city. Lake Tana is used for dumping industrial and municipal waste from Bahir Dar city and its surrounding settlements. The city of Bahir Bar has no solid or liquid waste treatment plant to treat any waste, all waste streams end up in an open field with no treatment at all. The municipality is currently in charge of faecal sludge management in the city. Both the municipality and the private sector provide emptying services to customers but there is a lack of monitoring of service standards. All solid wastes, including faecal sludge, are unsafely disposed of in an open field in the outskirts of the city with no treatment at all.

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