WaterAid says the organisation the collaboration with Coca Cola Foundation and Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) has resulted to large scale water project in five local government areas in Enugu State.
The WaterAid Country Director, Dr ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye, made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Aniagolu-Okoye said that the communities that benefited from the project are Nsukka, Ezeagu, Uzo-Uwani, Isiuzo and Enugu South local government areas.
She said that the organisations spent N300 million on the project, adding that the effort would provide access to sustainable clean water, decent toilets and sanitation to the communities.
The country director noted that the project would provide sanitation and hygiene services to over 10,000 residents in the communities.
According to her, the adverse consequences of lack of toilet facilities on health and socio-economic wellbeing are glaring.
“There can be no development in any community or nation without access to these basic services and progress in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.
“This project will go a long way in improving the lives of so many people as well as to contribute to the state’s economic development,” he said.
Aniagolu-Okoye said that the scope of the project would provide about 2,250 people per day with access to clean water, refurbish 15 boreholes and construct five boreholes to the communities.
She said that an estimated 5,000 households would also receive toilet facilities along with small scale water service programmes designed to empower women in the communities.
Mr Clem Ugorji, the Public Affairs and Communications Director (RAIN), said that the projects were necessary to catalyse and improve the lifestyle and wellbeing of those in rural areas.
“Our commitment to the SDG goals is both in principle and in practice and has been so for decades.
“We ensure we practice what we preach by being careful stewards of such a scarce resource as water.
“Our strategy is to look for smarter ways to produce such that our water footprint is significantly reduced.
“We also ensure that our business system leverages on recycling technology to eliminate all forms of water wastage.
“Finally, under our RAIN programmes, we commit to return 100 per cent of the water we use in our products back to nature, while protecting watersheds and preserving aquifers.
“This is why we have invested along with our partners this significant sum, which we believe very shortly, will begin to yield positive and impactful results in Enugu,’’ he said.
Ugorji, however, said that the project was expected to be completed within 18 months. (NAN)
