Nearly one million people will directly benefit from a rural drinking water and sanitation program initiated by the Senegalese government with the help of a loan of 30 million Units of Account (UA*), equivalent to US$ 44.76 million, approved on Wednesday in Tunis, by the Executive Directors of the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group.
The second phase of the Rural Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Sub-programme aims at strengthening drinking water supply and sanitation infrastructures, in line with goals of the Results-based Country Strategy Paper (RBCSP- 2005-2009) and the Bank's Initiative in the rural water supply and sanitation sector. It also addresses the priorities of the government's second Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP2 - 2006-2010) targets.
The Program is designed to improve improving the health conditions of approximately 1,790,600 inhabitants of Kaffrine, Tambacounda, Kolda, Sédhiou and Ziguinchor regions of the country.
A component of the Millennium Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (PEPAM) put in place by the government in 2005 to help in the attainment of the water and sanitation-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, the program falls within the framework of the Bank's Initiative in this sector. This aims at strengthening the impact of the Bank's previous interventions and enhancing its role as lead development partner in this sub-sector.
"…It will help to meet the needs of about 800,000 people, including 162,000 directly concerned with drinking water infrastructures, 150,000 with sanitation infrastructure, and the entire population with the promotion of hygiene and support in the establishment of Borehole Users Associations (ASUFORs) and transfer of equipment maintenance to private operators.
"The major expected outcomes are sustainable improvement of access to drinking water and sanitation, and positive change in the attitudes and behaviours of the population with respect to hygiene," the project brief says.