Ethiopia's Minister of Water and Energy, Habtamu Itefa, says encouraging results have been recorded over the past four years in making infrastructure access more equitable across the country.
Addis Ababa, May 15, 2026.
In the past, water coverage stood at just 38 percent in some regions while reaching up to 70 percent in others, the minister recalled. Since the change, development projects have been distributed more equitably.
Concrete improvements have been seen in drought-prone areas including Afar, Somali regions and Borena zone. Pastoralists in Borena are shifting to farming, the Tendaho Dam in Afar supports forage production, and wheat output is rising in Somali.
The country's power generation capacity has grown from under 4,000 megawatts to nearly 10,000 megawatts. This expansion supports urban development and has enabled Ethiopia to host international conferences, the minister said.
