Tunis, 8 September 2004 - Ghana has been selected as one of the five countries ready to participate in the implementation of Phase I of the African Development Bank Group's new Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI).

A grant of 12.7 million of units of account, equivalent to US$ 18.7 million, today approved by the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), will help Ghana take advantage of this program.

The Ghana RWSSI program is aimed at supporting the country to meet the Millennium Development Goal of accelerated coverage of water supply and sanitation services. The program will help in reducing poverty and providing sustainable social and economic developments in conformity with the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) and thus represents a major priority of the Government.

The selection of Ghana is based on the existence of a governing sector policy, national program and institutional framework. A recent review of Ghana's water and sanitation sector has shown that low water supply coverage and poor health are well spread through rural areas in the country. Low sanitation coverage is also prevalent in the rural areas. The poverty of the rural people, the inability of Government to subsidize new investments and the existing non-functioning systems, and the lack of community management and hygiene education were the main causes of this situation in the past periods.

The program contributes in building up the capacity of national and regional institutions as well as Community-Based Organizations to maximize sustainability of the services provided, mainstreaming the role of women to plan and manage these facilities.

The full text of the appraisal report is available in the bank's website, in line with the Bank Group's new policy on disclosure of information:

http://www.afdb.org/projects/evalreport/ADF_BD_WP_2003_166_E.doc . Addendum: http://www.afdb.org/projects/evalreport/ADF_BD_WP_2003_166_Add_1_E.doc