Dodoma, 24 August 2022 (TDI): The World Bank has declared that more than half of Tanzania’s medical facilities report recurring water problems, which interfere with providing hygienic care. However, healthcare facilities in seventeen regions throughout the nation are receiving safe water & sanitary services due to a World Bank Water project.
The World Bank Organization reported this via a tweet on Wednesday
In #Tanzania, over half of healthcare facilities report routine water shortages, which interferes with hygienic care.
A @WorldBankWater project is helping bring safe water & sanitation services to healthcare facilities in 17 regions across the country: https://t.co/gfKFEmh93m pic.twitter.com/qoSGBQn6l3
— World Bank (@WorldBank) August 24, 2022
The organization further shared a feature story titled “Improving Sanitation to Secure Communities and Their Human Capital.”
The story features Dr. Ndavukai Larinyoni, a doctor at Itepula dispensary, Katavi, who arrived in the Itepula village in Songwe’s southwest in May 2018. This was her new desk as the medical professional in command of the community pharmacy. She moved from St. Mary’s Dispensary in Manyara’s northern district, which was over 700 kilometers away.
Both the places are distant, yet the main distinction between them was that Manyara’s dispensary had access to a pure water supply. It also provided sanitary facilities, while Itepula did not.
Dr. Ndavukai shared, “We had to queue for water along with the rest of the residents at the sole borehole, and if you were lucky to find the water flowing, the queue was always something to contend with. When the pump broke down, which was frequently, we had to go find water further out at unsafe shallow wells. We also had no toilets on site, so we would go to the village office to use their pit latrine”.
Aside from that, she further remembered the anticipation in the community. It was when representatives from the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) visited in 2020 to conduct surveys and hold discussions with the locals.
Furthermore, the Itepula Hamlet Water Scheme was built starting in October 2020 and was finished and turned toward the village in December of the same year. The village’s dispensary and two schools were promptly linked to the water supply system as priority facilities.
Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency
The Government of Tanzania moved to establish RUWASA in 2019 as the foundation of a new service delivery model aimed at providing sustainable water in rural areas. This is via resource mobilization, program management, capacity building, and operation and upkeep of projects with the active participation of residents.
Moreover, this was done in response to various sector analyses highlighting innumerable factors that affected the ongoing lag in the rural water and sanitation services sector.
Additionally, sanitation is done through the execution of the 350 million dollars Tanzania Sustainable Rural Water Delivery and Sanitation Program (SRWSSP). Thus, this would be funded by the International Development Association (IDA). RUWASA is offering additional water supply services to communities like Itepula.
Aside from that, the SRWSSP has been in place since 2019, and one of its development goals is to improve access to rural sanitation services and water supply.
