PRESS RELEASE

USAID Initiative Brings Clean Water To West Africa

May 16, 2006

Konodimini, Mali, had serious potable water problems. For years, five small pumps served a village of 3,500. The pumps often were broken, yet even when they were working, they never were able to produce enough clean drinking water for the entire village or to irrigate vegetable gardens, an important source of food.

Each neighborhood guarded its pump jealously. When a pump broke, neighborhood residents had to ask another neighborhood for help. These requests were not always granted when water was scarce. Bickering ensued, dividing the people in the village.

Nearly 20 percent of the world's population 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, and 2.4 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Children especially are susceptible to dying from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water and sanitation.

Throughout the developing world, the poor suffer from preventable water related diseases, including guinea worm, river blindness and trachoma the world's leading cause of preventable blindness. In the vulnerable rural communities of West Africa, health and livelihood issues associated with water resources are critical. Food security and the health of ecosystems upon which all life depends require sustainable sources of clean water that so many in developed countries take for granted.

To help people in Mali and two other West African countries gain access to reliable, safe water supplies the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, World Vision and several other international organizations to form the West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI).

The $41 million program provides clean water, sanitation and hygiene services in Mali, Ghana and Niger. Working nationally and locally the partnership supported the development of 100 alternative water sources, drilled 825 borehole wells and constructed 9,000 latrines.

Through community based outreach, the alliance also builds awareness of waterborne diseases and promotes sustainable water management. In 2008, an expected 450,000 people will benefit from these efforts and the partners will evaluate the possibility of replicating WAWI's successes in other regions.

"Where there is no clean water and sanitation, millions of children die each year, and millions of people become blind unnecessarily and suffer debilitating diseases. Our board chose water and sanitation as a priority, as we felt it was where we could have maximum impact on the most lives," said Steven Hilton, chairman of Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

 

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http://usinfo.state.gov)