Getachew Belaineh Tessema

Mr. Getachew Tessema is a senior WASH expert with more than 20 years of experience in WASH, health, and sustainable rural development. He has worked for the Government of Ethiopia, international donors, and implementing partners, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and SNV. Throughout his career, Mr. Tessema has managed and implemented complex WASH projects, including leading and managing the construction and rehabilitation of water supply schemes.

Mr. Tessema currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Party/Technical Director of the USAID-funded Climate-Resilient Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (CR WASH) Activity in Ethiopia, which aims to expand access to improved water supply and sanitation for Ethiopia’s lowland regions, specifically Afar, Oromia, Somali, and South Ethiopia.

Prior to joining RTI in 2023, Mr. Tessema served as WASH Sector Leader and Program Manager at SNV, where he oversaw 12 WASH programs from different donors, including a USAID project in Ethiopia and Rwanda and business development of the Capacity Building Component on USAID’s TRANSFORM WASH project. For the DFID/FCDO’s Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All project in Ethiopia, Mr. Tessema conducted formative research in six woredas of the Wag Hemra zone to identify the challenges with basic sanitation and key hygiene behaviors; worked to identify, capacitate, equip, and establish sanitation markets; led activities in support of achieving Open Defecation (ODF) Free status; and conducted annual monitoring surveys.

Mr. Tessema is a native Awigna speaker and fluent in Amharic and English.