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Regional News of Wednesday, 21 February 2007

Source: GNA

Unilever provides six northern communities with potable water

Kuunchieleyiri, Feb. 21, GNA- The Unilever Ghana Foundation for Education and Development (UFED), has undertaken water projects in six communities in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions at the cost of about 300 million cedis.

The UFED considered the projects as Ghana's Golden Jubilee Celebration gift to the beneficiary communities.

They included hand-dug wells in the Upper East Region, Upper West Region and a water system for the Tamale Secondary School in the Northern Region, all initiated by UFED in partnership with Water Aid Ghana, an non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Mr Andrew Quayson, chairman of UFED, speaking at the commissioning of a hand-dug well at Kuunchieleyiri, a farming community in the Wa West District, said UFED would in the next five years spend two billion cedis on water projects through out the country.

He said the execution of the Water Projects signified the Foundation's commitment to the development of the people in the Northern part of the country.

Mr Ambrose Dery, Upper West Regional Minister, who commissioned the well, asked the people to refrain from drinking unsafe water and instead use water from the wells in order to avoid contracting guinea worm disease.

He noted that in 2005, 333 cases of guinea worm were recorded in the region but this had reduced to 93 cases in 2006.