Access to clean water and adequate sanitation are key in reducing the prevalence of waterborne diseases hence a key factor – among others- to improving the nutritional status of the population.
As of now, thanks to the Scaling-Up Nutrition and WASH Infrastructure Project (SUNWIP), over 9,000 households in urban and rural areas of the Lao PDR benefit from continuous access to clean water, as reported at the SUNWIP Steering Committee meeting organised on Feb 21.
KfW and the Government of the Lao PDR jointly implement SUNWIP, funded by the European Union (EU).
At the meeting, Ms. Vilaykham Phosalath, Vice Minister of Public Works and Transport, praised the European Union and the long-standing commitment and support given to the people of the Lao PDR. She expressed: “We are proud of the partnership and collaboration extended to us by the European Union to help us fight back the hunger and starvation, while giving more than 100,000 people clean and safe access to water supply”.
The Department of Water Supply (DWS) of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) takes the lead in the project implementation, in cooperation with the National Nutrition Committee Secretariat (NNCS) and the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion of the Ministry of Health. KfW takes a major role to supervise and steer the project implementation to ensure its activities are completed as planned.
Mr. Sompong Sitthivong, Director General of the Department of Water Supply, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, on behalf of the project implementation steering committee, also provided an overview on SUNWIP, which has been implemented in two districts of Khammuan (Hinboun and Nhommalath) and four districts of Savannakhet (Nong, Atsaphone, Xepon and Outhoumphone) where it funds the construction, rehabilitation and extension of existing and new water supply systems in secondary towns. SUNWIP also contributes to raise awareness of the beneficiaries on how to best use clean water, on the importance of proper sanitation and hygiene practices, especially among the peri-urban communities and schools in the targeted districts.
As a result, SUNWIP support the Government of the Lao PDR in achieving two Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 2 “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” and SDG 6 “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. SUNWIP also directly contributes to the implementation of the National Nutrition Strategy to 2025.
“Since two years, the COVID-19 has affected our lives in many ways,” said EU Ambassador to the Lao PDR Ina Marciulionyte, “Yet, it does not impact our commitment to support people living in 62 villages in two targeted provinces of Laos, Khammuan and Savannakhet to gain access to clean water and proper sanitation and hygiene. In particular, nearly 15,000 m3 of drinking water per day will be produced by the new systems and distributed to 61,000 households through over 400 kilometres of network. Such number is expected to be increased to 90,000 households in the next 20 years,” added Ms Ina.
Director of the KfW Vientiane Office Jan Wiegelmann also remarked: “For the installation of water supply systems in six districts, we have completed 95% of the civil works, upon which 3 districts are already operational. A monitoring conducted by KfW and DWS in Savannakhet last month showed that many households already have water connection and villagers are benefiting from it. SUNWIP project does not only grant access to clean water to the population of secondary towns, but also provide knowledge and guidance to the communities to build more than 91 latrines properly in 13 priority peri-urban communities and 11 group handwashing facilities benefiting more than 900 students and teachers.”
Through effective awareness raising campaigns in the forms of student WASH kits, different types of posters and manuals and community outreach activities, villagers are better informed on the use of clean water and hygiene practices to avoid waterborne diseases and thus triggering nutritional gains and reducing the number of children suffering from the negative and devastating consequences of malnutrition.
To ensure the sustainability of the Project, SUNWIP also contributes to building the capacity of the two Provincial State Enterprises on different topics. These are, for instance, borehole design and drilling of boreholes for water supply, including the operation and maintenance of the new water supply facilities. Training on financial modelling to ensure the viability of the Provincial State Enterprises managing the new facilities has now been conducted for Savannakhet authorities.
Indeed, as expressed by the EU Ambassador to the Lao PDR, “We trust this project will benefit more and more people in the long term. In this regard, I would like to highlight that governance and financing are key elements for the maintenance of such service (water service),” added Ms. Ina.
The Annual Steering Committee Meeting hosted more than 60 participants, both on-site and online, representing government partners from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and provincial and district authorities, as well as the European Union and KfW Vientiane Office and Headquarters.
Source: Lao News Agency