U.S. Government Launches $2.5 million Water and Sanitation Project for Kaduna and Bauchi States

U.S. Government Launches $2.5 million Water and Sanitation Project for Kaduna and Bauchi States

From left: Kaduna State Commissioner for Water Resources, Sulieman Aliyu Lere, Chief of Staff to Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Bachir Saidu, Governor of Bauchi State, Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, and USAID/Nigeria Mission Director Stephen M. Haykin.

KADUNA – The U.S. government, through its Agency for International Development (USAID), Thursday,  launched a new water and sanitation activity that will help Kaduna and Bauchi states improve the health and hygiene of their populations.

Under the two-year, $2.5 million Water and Sanitation Coordination Project (WCP), USAID will work with Bauchi and Kaduna states.   Both states have recently received substantial investments for water and sanitation infrastructure from the World Bank and African Development Bank.

The WCP will provide governance support for these new infrastructure facilities and also generate data critical to develop enhanced Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programming and build a community of practice for WASH professionals throughout Nigeria.

USAID is working with the Kaduna and Bauchi state water boards to maintain a path toward financial and commercial viability.  By strengthening their capacity to make solid investment decisions, improving billing and collections, and being responsive to the concerns of their customers, more people and businesses will ultimately have access to water and sanitation services.

“Infrastructure investments are essential, but not sufficient to extend water and sanitation services to even more residents,” USAID/Nigeria Mission Director Stephen M. Haykin said at the launch. “This is where [our] new project lends support.”

According to the UN, about 57 million people lack access to safe drinking water in Nigeria.  Each year, waterborne illnesses kill around 1 million Nigerian children under the age of five.

The new activity builds upon the USAID Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa activity in Bauchi, Ebonyi, and Rivers states.  Improving WASH services is a component of a broader Memorandum of Understanding  in support of economic growth between USAID and the Kaduna state government signed in April.

Speaking on behalf of the two benefiting states, the Governor of Bauchi State, Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, pledged the commitment and political will of the people and states of Kaduna and Bauchi in ensuring the success of the project.  “There is no gainsaying the fact that support from USAID is very essential in building the capacity and good governance of key institutions of Bauchi and Kaduna states,” he said.

 

 

 

About author

You might also like

NEWS 0 Comments

P&G wins Occupational Safety and Health Standards award

The award winning plant Procter and Gamble (P&G), a leading fast moving consumer goods company in Nigeria and makers of Pampers and Ariel, has received the National Development Safety and

2023 Blood Donor Day: Nigeria in shortfall of 1.7m pints of blood annually

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate 2023 World Blood Donor Day, today, Haima Health Initiative, says Nigeria is in shortfall of 1.7 million pints of blood

FEATURES 0 Comments

COVAX COVID-19 vaccines arrive Nigeria

Nigeria has received nearly 4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, shipped via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.   The vaccines arrived at the

0 Comments

No Comments Yet!

You can be first to comment this post!

Leave a Reply