Koraro, Ethiopia
Population |
55000 |
Villages |
11 |
The Millennium Village cluster in Koraro is located in the Hawzen district in northern Ethiopia, an area surrounded by jagged escarpments and dusty arid land. The region is semiarid with a short rainy season that lasts from the end of June to the beginning of September. The Koraro cluster is located in one of the poorest regions in all of Ethiopia, owing to a confluence of geographic, political, economic and environmental factors.
Koraro is one of the most remote and isolated sites and also suffers from very poor infrastructure and severe drought. The 11 villages span an area of several hundred square kilometers, stitched together by extremely poor or non-existent roads, which make traveling between the Villages and local commercial centers, such as Hawzien and Mekelle, very difficult. Koraro is located about 16 km from a dry weather road, and about 54 km from the main road. With such long distances and no communications technologies, Koraro is effectively cut off from the rest of the world.
Village Characteristics by Sector
Koraro is evenly split into two major agricultural zones, which differ by soil type. People in the villages grow a variety of crops such as millet, beans, sesame, maize, sorghum, barley, flax and teff (a type of grain). The soil is severely degraded from erosion, and there is no topsoil in most areas. Raising livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats is an important component of agricultural life. Average yields prior to program implementation were as follows: 800 kg/ha barley, 1,200 kg/ha maize, 700 kg/ha millet, 1,000 kg/ha sorghum and 600 kg/ha teff.
Major health problems in Koraro include acute respiratory diseases, malaria, high maternal mortality rates and diarrhea. A village clinic, approximately 5 km away, is staffed by a nurse, two junior nurses, and four community health workers. However, the clinic lacks basic diagnostic equipment and adequate supplies of essential medicines, and is not capable of dealing with the severe health problems in the village. The nearest hospital is in Wukro, a town 54 km away. There is a 60% infection rate for malaria and a regional rate of 4.2% for HIV/AIDS.
The village primary school in the research village is in poor condition and does not have access to water. It also lacks space for the oldeststudents (7th grade), so class is held under a tree. Students are mostly unable to progress beyond 7th grade because the nearest school with an 8th grade is a 3-4 hour walk from the village.
Access to safe water for drinking and irrigation is a major challenge. Six out of the 10 hand-dug wells are not accessible and only 34 families have access to safe drinking water. The closest river is a 2 km walk, which is practically nonexistent in the dry season. Trenches dug in the dry riverbed, a popular solution to the water crisis, often yield unsafe water. New technologies and new techniques are needed to quickly address the situation .
Intervention Highlights
Koraro is undergoing major improvements in infrastructure, such as constructing micro-dams for water storage, building safe water points and building and refurbishing classrooms. The school feeding program in the cluster is helping to improve performance and attendance.
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