ADB supports rural water supply and sanitation

The government of Rwanda has signed agreements worth US $18.8 million for rural water supply and sanitation initiatives, funded by the African Development Bank (ADB), the bank said on Friday. Of the total funding, $5.8 million is a loan and $13.07 million is a grant. "The Water Supply and Sanitation Programme in Rwanda aims at providing durable drinking water supply and sanitation services to rural communities with a view to improving their living conditions," the bank said. It added: "It will provide the country with the means to monitor the drinking water supply and sanitation sector, and build capacities to ensure the sustainability of these services." The bank said that the programme comprised four components: studies and setting up of a system of drinking water and sanitation services resource and infrastructure management and monitoring; institutional support and capacity building for programme stakeholders; water supply and sanitation infrastructure development; and programme management. During the signing ceremony at the bank's headquarters in Tunisia, the vice-president of the ADB Group in charge of West and Central Operations, Olabisi Ogunjobi, said that five countries would benefit from the new ADB initiative. He said Rwanda had been selected to take part in the first Water Week, which the bank would hold in Tunis from 1 to 3 July.