WB boosts water sector… About 19 million people to benefit from 700bn/- financing
ABOUT 10 million people are expected to get access to improved water supply while nine million are set to get better sanitation facilities in Tanzania through additional financing approved by the World Bank (WB).
The approved financing comprises of a credit of 300 million US dollars (equivalent to 690bn/-) from International Development Association (IDA) and a 4.9 million US dollars (equivalent to 11.27bn/-) grant from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) grant aimed at supporting the Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (SRWSSP).
A statement issued by the World Bank on Wednesday revealed that the support will cover the programme’s expansion from 86 district councils in 17 regions and 137 district councils in 25 regions of the country.
Besides, the programme will enable up to 1,850 public primary schools and 2,600 healthcare facilities (HCFs) to be reached with improved sanitation and hygiene facilities and also support a pilot of 206 water schemes that will be built under public-private arrangements.
WB Country Director for Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Nathan Belete said: “We are very encouraged by the results of the original financing for the programme through which more than 3.3 million people were provided with access to improved water supply and significant advancement in sanitation access for households, schools and healthcare facilities.”
These services are boosting human capital and social inclusion as they help to free up women’s time for productive ventures, while also improving student performance,” he added.
According to the statement, the original credit of 350 million US dollars for the SRWSSP was approved in June 2018, with the objective of increasing access to rural water supply and sanitation services in participating districts and strengthening the capacity of select sector institutions to sustain service delivery.
The programme’s implementation began in 2019 by supporting the establishment of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA), as a specialised rural water services delivery agency, mandated to ensure the sustainability of services.
The implementation is led by the Ministry of Water in close coordination with RUWASA, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health and the President’s Office–Regional Administration and Local Government.
The additional financing supports the government’s ambitious Water Sector Development Programme (WSDP) Phase 3 launched this year, running through 2025 with specific targets including connecting 9.7 million people to new water supply and 3.87 million people to rehabilitated water points.
Similarly, provide basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure to 1,500 HCFs and 2,800 primary schools through rehabilitation, and 2,000 HCFs and 1,000 primary schools through new infrastructure.
The WSDP phase 3 also aims to reach 95 per cent of the target population through social behaviour change communication campaigns, in addition to ensuring all primary schools are supported with emergency sanitary materials which are critical for school retention of adolescent girls.
On her part, WB Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, Ms Ruth Walker indicated that the speed and magnitude of results that have been achieved by the parent programme can be attributed to several factors, with the most important one being the establishment of RUWASA.
“This institutional reform has provided the needed focus on service delivery and sustainability of water supply, leading to improved staffing capacity, improved processes and guidance for service delivery and improved availability and accuracy of real-time data on access and sustainability,” she noted.
