By Scoop Reporter
GERMANY has given Zambia €8 million (K157 million) to implement a water supply, sanitation and hygiene programme in six districts of Luapula Province.
The funds have been secured through the KfW Development Bank and in collaboration with UNICEF Zambia and will benefit Chiengi, Chifunabuli, Kawambwa, Lunga, Mwansabombwe, and Mwense districts.
According to a joint statement jointly released by UNICEF Zambia and the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, the programme will be implemented through the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection with support to the target districts and provincial authorities, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of General Education.
The programme entitled ‘Enhancing Access to WASH Services in Luapula Province of Zambia’ will be implemented over a period of three years (2020-2022) in the target six districts and is expected to benefit an estimated 200,000 people.
The ultimate goal of the programme is to reduce the burden of diarrhoeal diseases among children, especially those under 5.
Under the programme, at least 450 existing non-functional boreholes will be rehabilitated, and 340 new boreholes will be drilled and equipped with hand pumps, and ten piped water supply stems will be constructed or upgraded.
The programme will also support sanitation and hygiene promotion, and capacity building for communities, districts, and provincial and national staff in planning, programme implementation, the operation and maintenance of WASH infrastructure, and monitoring and evaluation.
The programme will also see the rehabilitation and upgrading of water and sanitation infrastructure in 50 schools and 20 health centres and also support health care waste management systems in health
Through the initiative, KfW Development Bank on behalf of the German Federal Government, contribute to accelerated achievement of the SDG targets for WASH, focusing on unserved and hard-to-reach vulnerable rural communities in Luapula Province.
This programme will contribute to a reduction in morbidity and mortality due to WASH-related diseases, lowering the burden of water collection on women and girls, and improving basic education outcomes and gender equality, through enhancing access to WASH services in low-WASH access and the most disadvantaged districts of Luapula Province, in line with the Government’s Vision 2030, 7NDP and the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (NRWSSP) 2016-2030.
