Namibia’s ‘Water Sector Support Program’ has received a loan of 121.7 million USD and a grant of 3million Euro from the Rural Water Supply Foundation Initiative Trust Fund of the African Development Bank.
The program which is aimed at facilitating sustainable production and transfer of water resources hopes to improve access to potable water for agricultural and industrial use as well as enhancing situation in rural areas and enrich management and utilization.
The program which will be implemented over five year duration will entail the construction and rehabilitation of bulk water infrastructure and associated fixtures, construction of water supply schemes and climate resilient inclusive sanitation facilities, hygiene interventions and institutional capacity building initiatives.
At completion in 2024, the interventions will directly benefit an estimate d 1 million people and 250,000 indirect beneficiaries, most of whom are women.
Namibia is grappling with a national water crisis due to severe droughts. The 2018/2019 rainy season was one of the driest since 1981 and has imposed a serious constraint to the southern African nation’s economic, environmental and social development agenda.
