Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

73pc Afghans to Have Access to Hygienic Water in 2 Years

73pc Afghans to Have Access to Hygienic Water  in 2 Years

KABUL - As many as 1.8 million people would find access to clean drinking and sanitation in the countryside under a two-year plan signed here on Sunday.
The plan documents were signed between the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development Mujiburrahman Karimi, speaking at the signing ceremony, said the 2018 and 2019 plan would benefit additional 1.5 million people in emergency situations.
He said the scheme would be implemented by the ministries of rural rehabilitation and development, education and public health.
Karimi said the program would cost $43,000,295 provided by UNICEF, adding of the budget, some $22,270,000 had been allocated for 2018.
The minister said the scheme would be implemented in Faryab, Jawzjan, Sar-i-Pul, Balkh, Samangan, Baghlan, Takhar, Badakshan, Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan, Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Ghazni, Bamyan, Daikundi, Kapisa, Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman, Nuristan, Herat, Badghis, and Ghor provinces.
He said training workshops for engineers stationed in capital Kabul and provinces were also considered for their capacity building in spheres of surveying and designing. The training programs would be carried out by the Irrigation Departments.
Constructing water supply networks, digging up deep water wells in villages, schools and clinics constituted another part of the scheme, he added.
Employees in provinces would also receive vocational trainings in controlling the quality of water, the minister said, adding the initiative would cover villages and districts on a priority basis where incidents paralysis among children had emerged.
According to him, currently 53 percent of people have access to healthy and drinkable water and the figure would reach 73 percent in the next two years.
Meanwhile, UNICEF chief in Afghanistan Mrs. Adele Khudr, who was present on the occasion, expressed happiness over the signing of the plan, saying one of the UNICEF’s responsibilities was children’s safety.
She said children had the right to hygienic water; therefore, the plan was signed with MRRD. (Pajhwok)