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Press Release
23 February 2008
UK helps Sierra Leone turn on the taps for clean water
- £32 million support for water and sanitation to save thousands of lives
International Development Minister Douglas Alexander today launched a £32 million,
five-year water, sanitation and hygiene education programme in Sierra Leone.
The UK contribution will provide an additional 1.5 million people with safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene education and will help save the lives of up to 3,000 children each year.
The announcement comes as Douglas Alexander visits Sierra Leone as part of a visit to West Africa (22-23 February). During his visit, he will meet President Koroma of Sierra Leone and President Kufuor of Ghana.
In Sierra Leone less than half the population has access to safe water and sanitation, and 20,000 children under the age of five die every year from dirty water and hygiene-related illness.
The UK funding will deliver basic wells, hand pumps and improvements to the
existing water supply systems. The programme, which is run in conjunction with
UNICEF and the Sierra Leone
Government, will focus on rural areas but also the
target the capital city, Freetown, which suffers from a fragile water supply.
Douglas Alexander said:
"Sanitation is essential for a healthy, secure and dignified life. In Sierra Leone, 20,000 children under five die every year from dirty water and hygiene-related causes.
"Women and girls pay a particularly heavy price – many don’t go to school because there are no toilets for them to use. Many avoid eating or drinking all day as they can only go to the toilet when it’s dark."
"Providing safe water and basic sanitation for the people of Sierra Leone is at the heart of the country’s recovery and the long journey out of poverty for millions of people."
The UK contribution increases Sierra Leone’s current spending on water and sanitation by seven times and aims to put Sierra Leone back on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of people without safe water or basic sanitation.
The Sierra Leonean Government’s annual spend on water is £1.7 million. The funding from the UK aims to help women and children particularly through better hygiene practices and the drinking of safe water. The UK will also provide technical support to the Sierra Leonean Government to help strengthen their own ability to deliver better water services to the poorest in the future.
Notes for editors
- In Sierra Leone, 29% of infant deaths under five years of age are caused by diarrhoea. Out of 68,640 child deaths last year, 19,905 were due to diarrhoea.
- Find out more about what DFID is doing globally to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene - see Millennium Development Goal 7 - Environment, Water & sanitation
- 2008 is the International Year of Sanitation. To learn more please visit
www.irc.nl
- For more information on DFID’s work in Sierra Leone, please visit Sierra Leone's country page.
