International coalition launches safe-water project

ABIDJAN, - A coalition of international organisations launched on Tuesday a regional project aimed at improving people's lives by providing them with potable water and sanitation facilities such as latrines, the US State Department reported on Wednesday.

The West African Water Initiative will be implemented in rural areas of Ghana, Mali and Niger. According to Bruce Wilkinson, a senior official of the non-governmental organisation World Vision International, the US $41 million-project would prevent millions of people from contracting diseases such as Guinea worm, river blindness and schistosomiasis - water-borne diseases that can be prevented easily with improved water sources, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Participating agencies include World Vision, the US Agency for International Development, which donated US $4.4 million, the Conrad Hilton Foundation, which gave US $18 million, UNICEF, and the Lions Club. Winrock International, Cornell University, the World Chlorine Council and the Desert Research Institute are also involved in the project.

According to the UNDP Human Development Report for 2002, the three countries have comparable rates of access to potable water: 64 percent of the population in Ghana, 65 percent in Mali and 59 percent in Niger. However, Niger lags far behind in access to sanitary facilities - 20 percent of the population, as against 63 percent in Ghana and 69 percent in Mali.