The Honourable Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, FNSE has called on the country’s International Donor Partners in the Water Sector to synergize their activities to a National scheme in order to achieve a coordinated and sustainable development in the sector. The Hon Minister stated this on Tuesday 2nd February, 2016 when the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Development Partners Group (WASH DPG) held a meeting with him in his office on how to prioritize and scale up their activities in the sector.
Engr. Suleiman was happy that the international development partners and agencies doing business in the sector which comprise African Development Bank (AfDB), European Commission (EC), French Development Agency (AFD), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), UK Aid, UNICEF, USAID, Water Aid and the World Bank are synergizing to develop the water sector.
He therefore advised the Group to support the sector in strategic planning; monitoring and evaluation of their investment in WASH services in the country.
Saying, “I am very happy that the Group has such a platform. Hitherto, so many activities go on without appropriate coordination. This synergy we are developing today is a good one in the right direction as it will motivate a holistic development and we would be able to avoid overlaps and fill the gaps in our activities”.
Also, the Hon. Minister said that the water bill which is currently under review is in the Ministry’s front burner and would soon be passed into law as discussions are on with the appropriate authorities This as well as the Ministry’s Road map would be developed soon and he urged the development partners to key into them to achieve maximum success.
Presenting his paper on WASH activities in Nigeria, the leader of the delegation/ French Development Agency (AFD) Country Director, Olivier Delefosse said that adequate provision of WASH services remain a major challenge in Nigeria. “39% of the population do not have access to improved drinking water supply, 66% do not have access to improved sanitation facilities and an estimated 50 million people defecate in the open”.
To address these challenges, he called for policy prioritization and stakeholders’ coordination, increase in the water sector budget with a particular reference to hygiene, better collection, analysis and disclosure of data and a strong political commitment.
M. E. Umoh (Mrs.)
Director of Information
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Report By: PRNigeria.com
