Waste and pollution have led to critical health problems in various cities of Ethiopia. This was stated by the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society ( ewnhs ). Stephen Spawls, vice president of ewnhs, believes that fast growing urban population has made matters worse. Spawls said the existing environmental educational training manuals and posters focus only on rural environmental problems without giving due attention to basic sanitation problems of the towns. He said it is important to devise a mechanism for proper management of wastes. ewnhs has started projects in Addis Ababa aimed at raising awareness about the issue among teachers, students, education officers and development workers.