Latest news with #sanitation
Zawya
20 hours ago
- Health
- Zawya
The Power of Water: How the Angola Institutional and Sustainability Support to Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project is Transforming Lives
'Before this support, we had a lot of difficulties accessing water. We used to fetch it from the river. It was very distant for us, and we suffered from many diseases. But now, since we've had water available to everyone, cholera has decreased significantly, infections have decreased a lot, too, so I'm grateful for that'. These words from Clementina Artur, capture the real impact of the African Development Bank's transformative intervention in people's lives, with the Institutional and Sustainability Support to Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project, which started in 2015 and will be completed at the end of 2025. When the African Development Bank's initiative reached these communities in Angola, it didn't merely install infrastructure – it transformed lives for the most vulnerable communities, leaving no one behind. Isabel Sambovana is also another success life story. Her life changed completely with the installation of a latrine in her community (Sumbe). 'Before having the latrine, I was forced to go to the grass behind the wall of my house. It was very painful because of my age. But now I have a bathroom, and it has made my life easier. With the latrine here in the yard, I don't need to move around. I have more dignity.' Before this installation, people in the community were forced to defecate in the open air, increasing diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, and malaria – but now with proper sanitation, women have regained their dignity and safety. Now, everything has changed. Most importantly, Isabel's latrine proved to be life changing. It spurred the community to self-build additional 301 latrines. A Project That Integrates and Complements Itself Like Life The project, set to conclude in December of 2025 after a decade of implementation, has delivered remarkable results: the seven utility companies supported by the project have made a total of more than 59,008 household water connections, reaching a total of more than 472,000 people. Seven utility companies have been legally established and received technical assistance to establish a strong financial management function, and engage the private sector in operation and maintenance; 179 women-run water kiosks set up in peri-urban areas are functioning; three new water quality laboratories were built in three different provinces (Cunene, Bengo and Sumbe); 11 coastal cities have developed their sanitation investment plans of which three have proceeded to investment stage and a further five have secured financial commitment, and master plans have been developed for the provincial capitals. A social and gender inclusion strategy and an action plan for the sector have been developed. An internship program was developed that helped some 60 young Angolans to learn and gain technical experience in project management, engineering, financial management, environment, social and other relevant areas. The numbers tell only part of the story. According to project task manager from African Development Bank Eskendir Alemseged: 'The project is transformative, tackling critical challenges related to institutional reform, infrastructure development, and improved service delivery across a broad geographic area in Angola. Through its comprehensive approach, the project not only provided access to clean water for an additional 472,000 people but also enhanced service delivery systems that positively impacted nearly 1.5 million individuals. This broad-scale intervention has laid the foundation for more resilient and equitable water and sanitation services across the country.' Women Empowered, Communities Transformed For women like Helena, the project has delivered more than water, sanitation and infrastructure – it has brought financial independence and empowerment. 'I started as an intern, and now I am responsible for the microbiology department. There are four of us women and two men, and the laboratory's job is to carry out physical, chemical and microbiological analyses of water. Apart from Sumbe, the laboratory supports some municipalities in Kwanza Sul, such as Gabela and Porto Amboim. This project has brought about a huge change in my life. Before, I was unemployed, but now I work in a fascinating area, where I gain more knowledge every day, and that is very rewarding,' she says. In the case of young Gilda Giza Rede, the journey starts today. In a group of 10 interns, she is the only girl working as an electromechanical maintenance technician at the Sumbe WWTP (Wastewater Treatment Plant). Just 20, she has high expectations for the role she holds and is eager to learn: 'This Sumbe WWTP project will help many families in terms of disease prevention and management of wastewater, it will help farmers get access to organic fertilizer,' she says. Water is life - and for the African Development Bank, these words are a meaningful insight into how to continue to move forward and improve the quality of Life for the People of Angola. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Zawya
a day ago
- General
- Zawya
Bahrain: Hidd sewage network completed
Bahrain - A sewage network that is expected to benefit around 150 properties in Hidd's Block 109 and 113 has been completed, the Work Ministry announced yesterday. The project included the construction of 2,400 metres of main sewer lines, around 1,900m of secondary sewer lines and 308 main and secondary inspection rooms. The new sewage network is expected to benefit around 150 properties in Hidd. Ministry assistant under-secretary for sanitation Fathi Al Fara explained that the project is part of the ongoing efforts to continue developing infrastructure across various regions and expanding the number of beneficiaries of this vital service. He pointed out that the ministry was working to keep pace with urban development by providing high-quality infrastructure services. He also commended the residents and visitors of the area for their co-operation and adherence to the safety and guidance instructions during the implementation period of the project. Copyright 2022 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Trump's funding cut stalls water projects, increasing risks for millions
TAVETA, Kenya: The Trump administration's decision to slash nearly all US foreign aid has left dozens of water and sanitation projects half-finished across the globe, creating new hazards for some of the people they were designed to benefit, Reuters has found. Reuters has identified 21 unfinished projects in 16 countries after speaking to 17 sources familiar with the infrastructure plans. Most of these projects have not previously been reported. With hundreds of millions of dollars in funding canceled since January, workers have put down their shovels and left holes half dug and building supplies unguarded, according to interviews with US and local officials and internal documents seen by Reuters. As a result, millions of people who were promised clean drinking water and reliable sanitation facilities by the United States have been left to fend for themselves. Water towers intended to serve schools and health clinics in Mali have been abandoned, according to two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. In Nepal, construction was halted on more than 100 drinking water systems, leaving plumbing supplies and 6,500 bags of cement in local communities. The Himalayan nation will use its own funds to finish the job, according to the country's water minister Pradeep Yadav. In Lebanon, a project to provide cheap solar power to water utilities was scrapped, costing some 70 people their jobs and halting plans to improve regional services. The utilities are now relying on diesel and other sources to power their services, said Suzy Hoayek, an adviser to Lebanon's energy ministry. In Kenya, residents of Taita Taveta County say they are now more vulnerable to flooding than they had been before, as half-finished irrigation canals could collapse and sweep away crops. Community leaders say it will cost $2,000 to lower the risk – twice the average annual income in the area. 'I have no protection from the flooding that the canal will now cause. The floods will definitely get worse,' said farmer Mary Kibachia, 74. Trump's dismantling of the US Agency for International Development has left life-saving food and medical aid rotting in warehouses and thrown humanitarian efforts around the world into turmoil. The cuts may cause an additional 14 million deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. The Trump administration and its supporters argue that the United States should spend its money to benefit Americans at home rather than sending it abroad, and say USAID had strayed from its original mission by funding projects like LGBT rights in Serbia. With an annual budget of $450 million, the US water projects accounted for a small fraction of the $61 billion in foreign aid distributed by the United States last year. Before Trump's reelection in November, the water projects had not been controversial in Washington. A 2014 law that doubled funding passed both chambers of Congress unanimously. Advocates say the United States has over the years improved the lives of tens of millions of people by building pumps, irrigation canals, toilets and other water and sanitation projects. That means children are less likely to die of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, girls are more likely to stay in school, and young men are less likely to be recruited by extremist groups, said John Oldfield, a consultant and lobbyist for water infrastructure projects. 'Do we want girls carrying water on their heads for their families? Or do you want them carrying school books?' he said. The US State Department, which has taken over foreign aid from USAID, did not respond to a request for comment about the impact of halting the water projects. The agency has restored some funding for life-saving projects, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said American assistance will be more limited going forward. At least one water project has been restarted. Funding for a $6 billion desalination plant in Jordan was restored after a diplomatic push by King Abdullah. But the funding cuts to other projects mean women in those areas will have to walk for hours to collect unsafe water, children will face increased disease risk and health facilities will be shuttered, said Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, CEO of Mercy Corps, a nonprofit that worked with USAID on water projects in Congo, Nigeria and Afghanistan that were intended to benefit 1.7 million people. 'This isn't just the loss of aid — it's the unraveling of progress, stability, and human dignity,' she said. The United States is not the only country to limit its foreign assistance, citing domestic priorities. Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have also made cuts. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projects a 9 percent to 17 percent drop in net official development assistance in 2025, following a 9 percent decline in 2024. In eastern Congo, where fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels has claimed thousands of lives, defunct USAID water kiosks now serve as play areas for children. Evelyne Mbaswa, 38, told Reuters her 16-year-old son went to fetch water in June and never came home – a familiar reality to families in the violence-wracked region. 'When we send young girls, they are raped, young boys are kidnapped.... All this is because of the lack of water,' the mother of nine said, without providing specifics. Reuters was unable to confirm her account of such attacks. A spokesperson for the Congolese government did not respond to requests for comment. In Kenya, USAID was in the midst of a five-year, $100 million project that aimed to provide drinking water and irrigation systems for 150,000 people when contractors and staffers were told in January to stop their work, according to internal documents seen by Reuters. Only 15 percent of the work had been completed at that point, according to a May 15 memo by DAI Global LLC, the contractor on the project. That has left open trenches and deep holes that pose acute risks for children and livestock and left $100,000 worth of pipes, fencing and other materials exposed at construction sites, where they could degrade or be looted, according to other correspondence seen by Reuters. USAID signage at those sites makes clear who is responsible for the half-finished work, several memos say. That could hurt the United States' reputation and potentially give a boost to extremist groups seeking fresh recruits in the region, according to a draft memo from the US embassy in Nairobi to the State Department seen by Reuters. Reuters could not confirm if the memo was sent and if revisions were made to it prior to sending. The State Department did not respond to requests for comment. The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab group based in Somalia has been responsible for a string of high-profile attacks in Kenya, including an assault on a university in 2015 that killed at least 147 people. 'The reputational risk of not finishing these projects could turn into a security risk,' the memo said. Al Shabab could not be immediately reached for comment. The Kenyan government did not respond to requests for comment. In Kenya's Taita Taveta, a largely rural county that has endured cyclical drought and flooding, workers had only managed to build brick walls along 220 meters of the 3.1-kilometer irrigation canal when they were ordered to stop, community leaders said. And those walls have not been plastered, leaving them vulnerable to erosion. 'Without plaster, the walls will collapse in heavy rain, and the flow of water will lead to the destruction of farms,' said Juma Kubo, a community leader. The community has asked the Kenyan government and international donors to help finish the job, at a projected cost of 68 million shillings . In the meantime, they plan to sell the cement and steel cables left on site, Kubo said, to raise money to plaster and backfill the canal. The county government needs to find 'funds to at least finish the project to the degree we can with the materials we have, if not complete it fully,' said Stephen Kiteto Mwagoti, an irrigation officer working for the county. The Kenyan government did not respond to a request for comment. For Kibachia, who has lived with flooding for years, help cannot come soon enough. Three months after work stopped on the project, her mud hut was flooded with thigh-deep water.
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Trump's funding cut stalls water projects, increasing risks for millions
The Trump administration's decision to slash nearly all U.S. foreign aid has left dozens of water and sanitation projects half-finished across the globe, creating new hazards for some of the people they were designed to benefit. Reuters has identified 21 unfinished projects in 16 countries after speaking to 17 sources familiar with the infrastructure plans. Most of these projects have not previously been reported. With hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cancelled since January, workers have put down their shovels and left holes half dug and building supplies unguarded, according to interviews with U.S. and local officials and internal documents. As a result, millions of people who were promised clean drinking water and reliable sanitation facilities by the United States have been left to fend for themselves. Water towers intended to serve schools and health clinics in Mali have been abandoned, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. In Nepal, construction was halted on more than 100 drinking water systems, leaving plumbing supplies and 6,500 bags of cement in local communities. The Himalayan nation will use its own funds to finish the job, according to the country's water minister, Pradeep Yadav. In Lebanon, a project to provide cheap solar power to water utilities was scrapped, costing some 70 people their jobs and halting plans to improve regional services. The utilities are now relying on diesel and other sources to power their services, said Suzy Hoayek, an adviser to Lebanon's energy ministry. In Kenya, residents of Taita Taveta County say they are now more vulnerable to flooding than they had been before, as half-finished irrigation canals could collapse and sweep away crops. Community leaders say it will cost $2,000 to lower the risk — twice the average annual income in the area. "I have no protection from the flooding that the canal will now cause, the floods will definitely get worse," said farmer Mary Kibachia, 74. Bipartisan support Trump's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has left life-saving food and medical aid rotting in warehouses and thrown humanitarian efforts around the world into turmoil. The cuts may cause an additional 14 million deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. The Trump administration and its supporters argue that the United States should spend its money to benefit Americans at home rather than sending it abroad, and say USAID had strayed from its original mission by funding projects like LGBT rights in Serbia. A section of the abandoned Kamleza irrigation canal, construction of which was halted following the decision to slash nearly all U.S. foreign aid, is seen in the village of Kimorigo in Kenya's Taveta County, on June 23. | REUTERS With an annual budget of $450 million, the U.S. water projects accounted for a small fraction of the $61 billion in foreign aid distributed by the United States last year. Before Trump's reelection in November, the water projects had not been controversial in Washington. A 2014 law that doubled funding passed both chambers of Congress unanimously. Advocates say the United States has over the years improved the lives of tens of millions of people by building pumps, irrigation canals, toilets and other water and sanitation projects. That means children are less likely to die of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, girls are more likely to stay in school and young men are less likely to be recruited by extremist groups, said John Oldfield, a consultant and lobbyist for water infrastructure projects. "Do we want girls carrying water on their heads for their families? Or do you want them carrying school books?' he said. The U.S. State Department, which has taken over foreign aid from USAID, did not respond to a request for comment about the impact of halting the water projects. The agency has restored some funding for life-saving projects, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said American assistance will be more limited going forward. At least one water project has been restarted. Funding for a $6 billion desalination plant in Jordan was restored after a diplomatic push by King Abdullah. But funding has not resumed for projects in other countries including Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, say people familiar with those programs who spoke on condition of anonymity. That means women in those areas will have to walk for hours to collect unsafe water, children will face increased disease risk and health facilities will be shuttered, said Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, CEO of Mercy Corps, a nonprofit that worked with USAID on water projects in Congo, Nigeria and Afghanistan that were intended to benefit 1.7 million people. "This isn't just the loss of aid — it's the unraveling of progress, stability and human dignity,' she said. The perils of fetching water In eastern Congo, where fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels has claimed thousands of lives, defunct USAID water kiosks now serve as play areas for children. Evelyne Mbaswa, 38, said her 16-year-old son went to fetch water in June and never came home — a familiar reality to families in the violence-wracked region. "When we send young girls, they are raped, young boys are kidnapped. ... All this is because of the lack of water,' the mother of nine said. A spokesperson for the Congolese government did not respond to requests for comment. In Kenya, USAID was in the midst of a five-year, $100 million project that aimed to provide drinking water and irrigation systems for 150,000 people when contractors and staffers were told in January to stop their work, according to internal documents. Only 15% of the work had been completed at that point, according to a May 15 memo by DAI Global LLC, the contractor on the project. That has left open trenches and deep holes that pose acute risks for children and livestock and left $100,000 worth of pipes, fencing and other materials exposed at construction sites, where they could degrade or be looted, according to other correspondence. USAID signage at those sites makes clear who is responsible for the half-finished work, several memos say. That could hurt the United States' reputation and potentially give a boost to extremist groups seeking fresh recruits in the region, according to a draft memo from the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi to the State Department. Children play in front of a nonoperational standpipe kiosk that was supposed to be supplied by the water reservoir, where incomplete water connections caused by USAID funding cuts to the NGO Mercy Corps have led to ongoing water shortages, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 16. | REUTERS The al Qaida-linked al Shabab group based in Somalia has been responsible for a string of high-profile attacks in Kenya, including an assault on a university in 2015 that killed at least 147 people. "The reputational risk of not finishing these projects could turn into a security risk," the memo said. Damaging floods In Kenya's Taita Taveta, a largely rural county that has endured cyclical drought and flooding, workers had only managed to build brick walls along 220 meters of the 3.1-kilometer irrigation canal when they were ordered to stop, community leaders said. And those walls have not been plastered, leaving them vulnerable to erosion. "Without plaster, the walls will collapse in heavy rain, and the flow of water will lead to the destruction of farms,' said Juma Kubo, a community leader. The community has asked the Kenyan government and international donors to help finish the job, at a projected cost of 68 million shillings ($526,000). In the meantime, they plan to sell the cement and steel cables left on site, Kubo said, to raise money to plaster and backfill the canal. The county government needs to find "funds to at least finish the project to the degree we can with the materials we have, if not complete it fully," said Stephen Kiteto Mwagoti, an irrigation officer working for the county. The Kenyan government did not respond to a request for comment. For Kibachia, who has lived with flooding for years, help cannot come soon enough. Three months after work stopped on the project, her mud hut was flooded with thigh-deep water. "It was really bad this time. I had to use soil to level the floor of my house and to patch up holes in the wall because of damage caused by the floods," she said. "Where can I go? This is home.'
Reuters
4 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Exclusive: Trump's funding cut stalls water projects, increasing risks for millions
TAVETA, Kenya, July 19 (Reuters) - The Trump administration's decision to slash nearly all U.S. foreign aid has left dozens of water and sanitation projects half-finished across the globe, creating new hazards for some of the people they were designed to benefit, Reuters has found. Reuters has identified 21 unfinished projects in 16 countries after speaking to 17 sources familiar with the infrastructure plans. Most of these projects have not previously been reported. With hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cancelled since January, workers have put down their shovels and left holes half dug and building supplies unguarded, according to interviews with U.S. and local officials and internal documents seen by Reuters. As a result, millions of people who were promised clean drinking water and reliable sanitation facilities by the United States have been left to fend for themselves. Water towers intended to serve schools and health clinics in Mali have been abandoned, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. In Nepal, construction was halted on more than 100 drinking water systems, leaving plumbing supplies and 6,500 bags of cement in local communities. The Himalayan nation will use its own funds to finish the job, according to the country's water minister Pradeep Yadav. In Lebanon, a project to provide cheap solar power to water utilities was scrapped, costing some 70 people their jobs and halting plans to improve regional services. The utilities are now relying on diesel and other sources to power their services, said Suzy Hoayek, an adviser to Lebanon's energy ministry. In Kenya, residents of Taita Taveta County say they are now more vulnerable to flooding than they had been before, as half-finished irrigation canals could collapse and sweep away crops. Community leaders say it will cost $2,000 to lower the risk – twice the average annual income in the area. "I have no protection from the flooding that the canal will now cause, the floods will definitely get worse," said farmer Mary Kibachia, 74. Trump's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development has left life-saving food and medical aid rotting in warehouses and thrown humanitarian efforts around the world into turmoil. The cuts may cause an additional 14 million deaths by 2030, according to research published in The Lancet medical journal. The Trump administration and its supporters argue that the United States should spend its money to benefit Americans at home rather than sending it abroad, and say USAID had strayed from its original mission by funding projects like LGBT rights in Serbia. With an annual budget of $450 million, the U.S. water projects accounted for a small fraction of the $61 billion in foreign aid distributed by the United States last year. Before Trump's reelection in November, the water projects had not been controversial in Washington. A 2014 law that doubled funding passed both chambers of Congress unanimously. Advocates say the United States has over the years improved the lives of tens of millions of people by building pumps, irrigation canals, toilets and other water and sanitation projects. That means children are less likely to die of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, girls are more likely to stay in school, and young men are less likely to be recruited by extremist groups, said John Oldfield, a consultant and lobbyist for water infrastructure projects. 'Do we want girls carrying water on their heads for their families? Or do you want them carrying school books?' he said. The U.S. State Department, which has taken over foreign aid from USAID, did not respond to a request for comment about the impact of halting the water projects. The agency has restored some funding for life-saving projects, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said American assistance will be more limited going forward. At least one water project has been restarted. Funding for a $6 billion desalination plant in Jordan was restored after a diplomatic push by King Abdullah. But funding has not resumed for projects in other countries including Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, say people familiar with those programs who spoke on condition of anonymity. That means women in those areas will have to walk for hours to collect unsafe water, children will face increased disease risk and health facilities will be shuttered, said Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, CEO of Mercy Corps, a nonprofit that worked with USAID on water projects in Congo, Nigeria and Afghanistan that were intended to benefit 1.7 million people. 'This isn't just the loss of aid — it's the unraveling of progress, stability, and human dignity,' she said. In eastern Congo, where fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels has claimed thousands of lives, defunct USAID water kiosks now serve as play areas for children. Evelyne Mbaswa, 38, told Reuters her 16-year-old son went to fetch water in June and never came home – a familiar reality to families in the violence-wracked region. 'When we send young girls, they are raped, young boys are kidnapped.... All this is because of the lack of water,' the mother of nine said. A spokesperson for the Congolese government did not respond to requests for comment. In Kenya, USAID was in the midst of a five-year, $100 million project that aimed to provide drinking water and irrigation systems for 150,000 people when contractors and staffers were told in January to stop their work, according to internal documents seen by Reuters. Only 15% of the work had been completed at that point, according to a May 15 memo by DAI Global LLC, the contractor on the project. That has left open trenches and deep holes that pose acute risks for children and livestock and left $100,000 worth of pipes, fencing and other materials exposed at construction sites, where they could degrade or be looted, according to other correspondence seen by Reuters. USAID signage at those sites makes clear who is responsible for the half-finished work, several memos say. That could hurt the United States' reputation and potentially give a boost to extremist groups seeking fresh recruits in the region, according to a draft memo from the U.S. embassy in Nairobi to the State Department seen by Reuters. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group based in Somalia has been responsible for a string of high-profile attacks in Kenya, including an assault on a university in 2015 that killed at least 147 people. "The reputational risk of not finishing these projects could turn into a security risk," the memo said. In Kenya's Taita Taveta, a largely rural county that has endured cyclical drought and flooding, workers had only managed to build brick walls along 220 metres of the 3.1-kilometre (1.9 mile) irrigation canal when they were ordered to stop, community leaders said. And those walls have not been plastered, leaving them vulnerable to erosion. 'Without plaster, the walls will collapse in heavy rain, and the flow of water will lead to the destruction of farms,' said Juma Kobo, a community leader. The community has asked the Kenyan government and international donors to help finish the job, at a projected cost of 68 million shillings ($526,000). In the meantime, they plan to sell the cement and steel cables left on site, Kobo said, to raise money to plaster and backfill the canal. The county government needs to find "funds to at least finish the project to the degree we can with the materials we have, if not complete it fully," said Stephen Kiteto Mwagoti, an irrigation officer working for the county. The Kenyan government did not respond to a request for comment. For Kibachia, who has lived with flooding for years, help cannot come soon enough. Three months after work stopped on the project, her mud hut was flooded with thigh-deep water. "It was really bad this time. I had to use soil to level the floor of my house and to patch up holes in the wall because of damage caused by the floods," she said. 'Where can I go? This is home.'
