Bauchi — Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) has expressed its commitment to providing access to safe water to 1.5 million people in 3,000 communities in Bauchi State.

General Manager of the Agency Engineer Garba Magaji, who spoke yesterday while briefing newsmen on the activities of the agency in Bauchi, said government had given adequate attention to access to safe water supply and sanitation in line with the millennium development goals and the National WASH Policy.

Engineer Magaji said government's efforts to boost water supply in the rural areas led to the establishment of the agency with corresponding progressive annual increase in budgetary allocation.

He said government had approved a state WASH policy to guide programme implementation which, he added, had attracted international donors' attention.

"The state is at present a beneficiary of two donors-supported projects in rural water supply and sanitation-a DIFD/UNICEF supported Sanitation Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN) project being implemented in five local government areas since 2010 and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) supported rural water supply project which is part of government of Japan's grant aid programme to be implemented in 14 local government areas from January 2013," Engineer Magaji, who hailed Bauchi State governor Isa Yuguda's commitment to rural water supply said.