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Cecilia Dapaah – Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved on Tuesday US $ 125 million from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Water and Sanitation Project (GAMA SWP).
This additional funding will support Ghana’s effort to reach 550,000 people in low-income urban communities of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) with improved sanitation and water supply services.
This was announced in a press release issued by the World Bank, dated Tuesday, September 22, 2020.
“Providing equitable access to safe and improved water and sanitation services is essential to improving people’s lives, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this project, we are committed to providing better access to water and sanitation to the most vulnerable, thus improving lives and reducing poverty, ”said Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia .
Additional funding to the GAMA SWP will also help strengthen the management of environmental sanitation services at GAMA and GKMA. It will provide water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to schools and health centers and promote hand washing. Households that benefit from toilets and / or water connections will benefit from hand-washing facilities and relevant hand-washing training.
“By promoting the use of safe sanitation and hygiene practices, the existing project has enabled vulnerable communities to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. While encouraging results have been achieved so far, more work is needed to address the remaining challenges and ensure sustainable universal coverage by 2030, ”said Yitbarek Tessema, senior specialist in water supply and sanitation at the World Bank.
The project will also improve coordination between key agencies and strengthen the capacity and performance of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies in reducing unbilled water, improving wastewater management, addressing pollution issues, climate change and translate development plans into targeted actions. The Government of Ghana will replicate the successful approaches of GAMA SWP in Kumasi and further expand services to targeted beneficiaries. Overall, some of the key results include providing home baths for 250,000 people; 200,000 people with institutional sanitary facilities; and 500,000 people with better water services.
* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low- or no-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve life of poor people. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the 76 poorest countries in the world, 39 of which are in Africa. IDA resources bring positive change to the 1.6 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $ 21 billion over the past three years, with about 61 percent going to Africa.
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