The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Governor of Taraba State, Dairus Dickson Ishaku, on a new partnership to improve the management and delivery of water and sanitation (WASH) services to help people live healthier lives through reliable access to clean water.
The MoU, signed online on May 21, 2020, outlines commitments between USAID and Taraba State to jointly develop a professionally managed, commercially oriented, and accountable State Water Board.
This will be accomplished by improving the Water Board’s financial viability, and strengthening policy, institutional, and regulatory frameworks for better WASH service delivery.
USAID Mission Director, Stephen M. Haykin, said at the signing that “the importance of water, sanitation and hygiene has been emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaboration marked by today’s agreement will help Taraba chart a path towards a better performing water board and will raise the quality of services for the health of their customers.”
A statement on the signing of the MoU by the U.S. Embassy in Abuja said that through the $60.4 million ‘Effective Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services” (E-WASH) activity, USAID supports Taraba and five other States to increase access to clean water and reduce water borne diseases by strengthening their Water Boards’ capacity to make solid investment decisions, improve billing and collection systems, and ensure greater responsiveness to customer concerns.
On his part, Governor Ishaku said his goal was to ensure that reliable water and sanitation services reach at least 90 percent of the state, even in some remote and mountainous areas, before his term expires.
The Governor said via videoconference from his Abuja office that “this is a milestone for our state. We believe we have the potential to provide not only the best water service delivery in the country, but in all Africa.”
The statement from the U.S, Embassy said that “over four years, USAID’s E-WASH will spur the mobilization of an additional $50 million from public and private sources. It will also provide access to piped clean water to at least 500,000 households. Other participating states include Delta, Abia, Imo, and Niger.
“E-WASH is one component of a wider USAID effort to foster closer coordination with federal and state government agencies to advance broad-based economic growth and resilience in Nigeria through improved WASH services.”
