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European
Union quenches water and sanitation problems for Zimbabwe's
rural poor
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Zimbabwe
August 23, 2006
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/media_35414.html
HARARE – The
European Union has donated 3.7mEuro (approx US$4.7million) to a
UNICEF project that will reach 500,000 Zimbabweans with improved
sanitation, hygiene and water facilities. The project focuses on
those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
The EU’s contribution
comes at a critical time when many Zimbabwean families and communities
are struggling with reduced access to basic services, the aftermath
of almost four years of drought, continued economic downturn, and
the AIDS pandemic. It is the single largest donation toward UNICEF’s
water and sanitation activities in Zimbabwe.
"As recent
cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe remind us, water and sanitation is
among the most important determinants of public health," said
UNICEF’s Representative in Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe. "When
people achieve reliable access to safe drinking-water and adequate
sanitation they have won a major battle against a wide range of
diseases."
The European
Union funds are for five years, targeting six districts of Zimbabwe.
The project supports hygiene promotion, the construction of latrines
in households and schools, nutrition gardens, and the drilling of
critical new bore holes.
"The European
Union is committed to assisting the work being done by Zimbabwe’s
rural communities, as they grapple with water, sanitation and hygienic
challenges brought by the AIDS epidemic," said the European
Commission’s Head of Delegation, Ambassador Xavier Marchal. "These
funds will reach half a million Zimbabweans and are just part of
our wider poverty-alleviation programmes across the country."
The funds are implemented in line with current EU policy towards
Zimbabwe and originate from the Water Facility established by the
European Commission.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that trends towards urbanization marginilise
rural communities. The project will, therefore, pay particular attention
to the water and sanitation needs of rural Zimbabwe through:
- The construction
of more than 6700 household latrines and 540 school latrines (from
which in return, schools offer free places to Orphans and other
Vulnerable Children);
- The promotion
of nutrition gardens and livestock rearing through new water sources,
thus ensuring nutritious foods for HIV-positive people, and income
generation for tens of thousands;
- The drilling
of 24 new boreholes and the repair and rehabilitation of 350 broken
down water points, and the protection of 300 shallow wells; and
- Hygiene
promotion to directly benefit 250,000 people.
The European
Union funds are in addition to more than 1.5mEuro it recently invested
in integrating water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion to
Home Based Care projects for 100,000 people.
UNICEF is currently
working with the Zimbabwean Government in the development of a consolidated
national rural domestic water supply and sanitation policy. Through
the Water and Environmental Sanitation Working Group, UNICEF is
coordinating water and sanitation humanitarian interventions targeted
at vulnerable populations in the country.
"Our efforts
are driven by a desire to support households and communities, in
particular orphans and other vulnerable children who have been most
affected by the HIV and AIDS epidemic," said UNICEF’s Kavishe.
"We are extremely grateful to the European Union for their
continued commitment to assist these most vulnerable of populations."
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