The Emergency Community Development Programme Support Project, benefiting from €43.32 million in support from the African Development Bank Group, has been implemented in Senegal since 2019. It is helping to significantly improve people's access to basic socio-economic infrastructure in rural areas.
An additional 230,000 people now have access to health infrastructure, according to the implementation progress and results report, published by the Bank on 26 January 2024. The project, which covers the 187 most isolated rural communities in 11 of Senegal's 14 regions, including Ziguinchor, Kolda, Kaolack, Louga and Kaffrine, aims to reach 300,000 people by its conclusion, at the end of 2024. Another 750,000 people now have access to water and sanitation and a further 220,000 to electricity. In addition, communications to 600 villages have been improved.
People can now reach markets in less than an hour thanks to the road infrastructure built under the project, including in Mbacké Kadior in the Louga region and Passi Thiayéne in the Fatick region.
The project has also led to the construction of 150 kilometres of rural roads and 250 linear kilometres of water supply pipelines. In addition, 20 solar power plants have been installed, 10 health posts have been built and 30 new boreholes drilled and equipped. The programme has also made it possible to develop 25 horticultural perimeters. In addition, 440 pieces of post-harvest equipment were acquired for distribution during the first quarter of 2024 to facilitate agricultural production processing. Women in Fatick region, the project's first beneficiaries, have already received the first pieces of equipment.
Finally, several multi village drinking water supply systems have been built and put into operation. These include the Keur Balla system in the municipality of Nguer Malal, which serves nine villages and gives 15,000 people access to drinking water.
"The Emergency Community Development Program was designed on a demand-driven basis. The people themselves were consulted about their basic needs. They said what their needs were and that made it possible to design the project, hence this spontaneous buy-in and strong commitment during the implementation phase," said Mahecor N'Diaye, project manager at the African Development Bank.
Mr N'diaye added that the programme objectives had been met for the water management, agricultural-production support, rural roads, and nutrition sectors. Its impacts are being felt across the populations of the different regions covered.
"The project will continue over 2024. The remaining work concern the construction of health posts and power plants. Work has started and building this infrastructure will facilitate access to health care and to electricity for more than 500,000 people across the country," Mr N'diaye concluded.
