April 2017: Aid donors announced projects to improve water security and water and sanitation access, as international organizations continued to highlight needs in developing countries during the first quarter of 2017.

In Djibouti, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) unveiled a US$17.05 million water security project to ensure pastoralists’ access to safe drinking water and to restore and regenerate rangelands. The project, supported by the World Food Programme (WFP), the Government of Djibouti, and the intended beneficiaries, will improve structures for surface water collection with a view to making more water available for public use. The project is expected to benefit more than 66,000 people. Two-thirds of Djibouti’s rural population are nomadic herders.

In Tanzania, the World Bank announced a US$225 million project to strengthen the capacity of municipal and other authorities to engage in integrated water resources management (IWRM) and planning processes. The project also will improve access to safe water and sanitation in the capital city of Dar es Salaam as well as secondary cities, benefiting up to 1.9 million Tanzanians. Also in Dar es Salaam, the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) announced a US$109 million project to improve water and sanitation access in Mwanza, a large urban slum, and other informal settlements around the city. The project is funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

In Papua New Guinea, the World Bank launched a US$70 million project to improve water supply in nine provincial towns and ten rural districts. The project will help government officers plan and manage water services in these areas, and is expected to improve access to safe water and sanitation around the country.

In Kosovo, the World Bank is restoring the Ibër Canal to its original capacity, at a cost of US$24.5 million. The canal provides water for industry, energy and household use in central Kosovo, including its capital city, Pristina.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) supported seven water supply and sanitation projects in countries facing “transition challenges” in eastern Europe, the southern Caucasus and Central Asia, in 2016. EBRD projects improved water infrastructure in Tajikistan, and wastewater management in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The study showed that in four regions in Niger, 43% of women routinely miss normal activities because there aren’t sufficient menstrual hygiene facilities.

At the March 2017 session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-61) in New York, US, some governments highlighted the need for adequate access to sanitation and hygiene services. The Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the Governments of Niger and Singapore jointly hosted a side event during CSW-61 to launch the results of a WSSCC study on access to menstrual hygiene in Niger. The study, titled ‘Menstrual Hygiene Management – The experience of nomadic and sedentary populations in Niger,’ investigated the experiences of women in four regions of the country. The study showed that, on average, 43% of women routinely miss normal activities because sufficient menstrual hygiene facilities are lacking. [IFAD Press Release on Djibouti] [World Bank Press on Tanzania] [UN-Habitat Press Release on Tanzania] [World Bank Press Release on Papua New Guinea] [World Bank Press Release on Kosovo] [EBRD Press Release] [WSSCC Press Release] [Menstrual Hygiene Management-The experience of nomadic and sedentary populations in Niger]