The project is implemented with three Ethiopian partners: the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC), the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) and the Ethiopian Meteorological Institute (EMI).
The work of WACCA-Ethiopia focuses on five work packages:
- Improved meteorological information services
- Improved hydrological information services
- Improved communication and disaster risk services
- Improved data management and information and communication technologies
- Sustainable institutions and cooperation
During 2023, representatives from EDRMC, MoWE, EMI and SMHI met to agree on the structure and to plan future activities. During the autumn, Ethiopian hydrologists visited SMHI in Norrköping to learn the basics of hydrological modelling and visit SMHI's hydrological warning service. In late November/early December, two week-long workshops were held in Addis Ababa: Work package 3 took a look at the current situation and discussed what is missing for the authorities to provide the services they want and what is needed to get there. Work package 1 discussed improving programming skills for meteorological applications (forecasting/analysis) and working on standard operating procedures.
A change in Phase 2 of the project is the inclusion of Ethiopian universities as research partners. Universities are expected to play a key role in both training activities and in the supervision of research projects, and by doing so will increase the project’s long-term sustainability.