"It's like mineral water!" exclaim the women of Onvang Eñenh, gathered around a water well with a solar panel above it. New water and sanitation facilities have changed the daily lives of people in this and surrounding villages, located three hours' drive from Bata, the economic capital of Equatorial Guinea.
Not so long ago, the inhabitants of Onvang Eñenh and the neighbouring village of Mecoga had to walk several kilometres to fetch water from the river, both for drinking and for household use. Now they have clean water from taps for drinking and cooking purposes.
The arrival of running water has been a liberating experience for Mokono Ndong, who has lived in Onvang Eñenh for 60 years.
"Before, we had to constantly fetch water from the river," she says. "Now it's so much easier - the water is right next to my house. It's good quality. I can keep it at home or take it with me to the fields." Ms Ndong proudly shows us two small bottles of water that she keeps safe in her home, just a few steps from the well.
The Onvang Eñenh borehole is one of 51 wells installed in 34 villages in Equatorial Guinea as part of the project, Support for the Development of Value Chains in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector (known by its French acronym, PASPA). Funded by the African Development Bank at cost of € 55 million, the project sites were recently visited by a delegation from the Bank Group led by Solomane Koné, the institution's Acting Director General for Central Africa.
The overall objective of PASPA is to improve food security by promoting value chains in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. But this project also goes much further by addressing the fundamental challenges of access to drinking water and sanitation for ordinary people.
State-of-the-art hydraulic equipment
"The sanitation and access to water component is particularly important to people," explains Mariano Micha Massa Nsegue, national coordinator of the PASPA project in Equatorial Guinea. "We had planned to build 50 drinking-water wells, but we ended up building 51 and repairing 20 that already existed. In rural areas that don't have electricity, the wells have been equipped with solar panels," he adds.
The village of Mecoga, a few kilometres from Onvang Eñenh, is another example of PASPA's
impact for local people. Nestled in the lush vegetation typical of the equatorial region, this peaceful village with its neatly aligned houses has seen its daily life transformed by the installation of a central well accessible to all residents.
The installation has been carefully designed: the taps around the well are 1.5 metres above the ground, out of the reach of children who might open them unnecessarily, and the precious water is strictly reserved for drinking and cooking. The river remains the source of supply for household chores and other needs.
Clean and safe water
The PASPA water and sanitation component offers huge public health benefits to communities by providing clean and safe water, reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. It also significantly reduces the workload of women and children, who are traditionally responsible for fetching water.
"The communities are particularly happy because the wells have been built in areas where access to water was a real problem for women, who had to walk two or three kilometres to fetch water," says the project coordinator.
The programme directly benefits more than 2,000 households, transforming their daily lives and opening new development opportunities, illustrating how a holistic approach in a project targeting a specific economic sector can have a profound impact on people's living conditions.
In Onvang Eñenh, Mecoga and several other beneficiary villages, the clear water flowing from the new boreholes is much more than a convenience: it is a symbol of a brighter and more self-sufficient future for these communities.
