On Monday, March 13, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the launch of an investment amounting to more than Ksh12.9 billion to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives in Kenya.
According to a statement from the US Embassy in Kenya, the project aims to give 1 million people access to basic sanitation and raise 1.6 million people’s access to basic or improved water services.
“I’ve seen firsthand the impact that water security and access to sanitation have on people’s lives. The issue of water security will remain a challenge in Kenya and around the world for the foreseeable future. By working together, we will find solutions.” Ambassador Meg Whitman said,
The US government estimates that this would require the sector to receive an investment of about Ksh16.8 billion. To address the worldwide water crisis and achieve universal coverage by 2030, an additional Ksh77 billion will be needed per year.
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Meg Whitman, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Alice Wahome, the water cabinet secretary, Susan Koki Mutua, the head of public health for the ministry of health, and Nyandarua governor Badilisha Kiarie were among the distinguished guests at the event.
According to Whitman, the US intervened in the country at the right time to help over 1 million Kenyans and end the country’s water crisis.
She stated that the growth of informal settlements and the number of people living in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions made it extremely difficult to provide sustainable water to households.
Read: USAID Announces KSh16 Billion Aid For 1.3 Million Kenyans
This also comes a few weeks after the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said that it will provide more than $126 million in additional food assistance to Kenyans as a result of the current drought, which has left more than four million people in the grip of a terrible hunger crisis, with the figure anticipated to grow to more than five million by June.
The provision of more than $126 million in food aid will enable USAID partners to fulfill the immediate needs of over 1.3 million individuals across the country.
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