East Africa

With population increases and economic growth, water is essential for energy generation, manufacturing and urban development. Economically, Eastern Africa is the fastest growing region on the continent. Economic expansion leads the continent at close to 7% per year. However, the benefits of economic development are not equally distributed, with women, young people and marginalized groups receiving a disproportionately low share. Rapid economic growth has also led to unsustainable use of land and water resources, and uncontrolled and widespread industrial pollution.

Eastern Africa experiences regular lengthy periods of drought. The frequency and duration of droughts and floods will only increase with climate change. Rapid urbanization and a strong push to create employment in the manufacturing and industrial sectors have created competition over the relative distribution of water for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. There are also issues around whether distribution should favor water for smallholders or large-scale farmers, often export-oriented agriculture. The mandate for managing water is spread across different ministries, and the organizations tasked with water management are understaffed and underfunded.

IWMI in East Africa

IWMI works closely with government and nongovernment partners in East Africa to develop solutions for water challenges and priorities. Our work is aligned with the agendas of regional and continent-wide organizations, including the African Union Commission, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the East African Community.

Our work in East Africa is based on the IWMI Strategy 2024–2030. All our activities contribute to supporting the efforts of the region and its countries to meet their targets towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Regional representative

Abdulkarim Seid

Abdulkarim Seid

Country Representative – Ethiopia, Regional Representative – East Africa (Rotational CR)

Contact

For work related to East Africa, please contact our regional office in Ethiopia.

Contact the media team.

Contact our global HQ.

Projects in East Africa

Latest East Africa news

IWMI supports climate-smart agriculture in Ethiopia

Solar-powered irrigation is contributing to improved food security and incomes for farmers in the Oromia and Central Ethiopia regions …

“I shall ‘sew’ the land together before I die.”

The story of one family’s successful gully restoration in Halaba, Ethiopia …

Pitching for impact: The journey of agri-tech innovators in Kenya

The Agritech4Kenya Challenge is supporting science-based agri-tech innovations that are localized and demand driven …

Research, partnerships, and community action build resilience in Ethiopia

IWMI and partners strengthen investment in anticipatory action and disaster preparedness following 2023 floods …

Latest East Africa publications

Displaying 4 publications
Low-cost sensors and multitemporal remote sensing for operational turbidity monitoring in an East African wetland environment (12/31/2024)
Low-cost sensors and multitemporal remote sensing for operational turbidity monitoring in an East African wetland environment
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 2024
More... [DOI] | Fulltext (5.75 MB)
Hydrologic extremes in a changing climate: a review of extremes in East Africa (01/31/2024)
Hydrologic extremes in a changing climate: a review of extremes in East Africa
Current Climate Change Reports, 2024
More... [DOI] | Fulltext (934 KB)
Estimating the potential of spices for mineral provision in a refugee context in East Africa (04/30/2023)
Estimating the potential of spices for mineral provision in a refugee context in East Africa
SN Applied Sciences, 2023
More... [DOI] | Fulltext (1.12 MB)
Automatization and evaluation of a remote sensing-based indicator for wetland health assessment in East Africa on national and local scales (03/16/2023)
Automatization and evaluation of a remote sensing-based indicator for wetland health assessment in East Africa on national and local scales
Ecological Informatics, 2023
More... [DOI] | Fulltext (8.71 MB)