Accra, Feb. 9, GNA - A four-year rural water and sanitation project in the Northern Region funded by the France through the Agence Fran=E7aise de Developp=E9ment (AFD) was on Thursday inaugurated at Diare in the Northern Region.

The pipe-borne water and institutional latrine of the Diare Community was jointly inaugurated by the Mr. Pierre Jacquemot, French Ambassador to Ghana and the Mr Christopher Addae, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, a statement issued by Agence Fran=E7aise de Developp=E9ment in Accra said on Friday.

It said the efficient work of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), local, international companies, communities and the district assemblies in the region resulted in the construction of seven small piped systems and 179 boreholes equipped with hand pumps to provide safe water to about 110,000 people.

It said 49 orphan pumps were rehabilitated to provide safe water to to improve the health and living conditions of the people especially in Guinea worm endemic areas.

The project also included 72 institutional latrines and 2,000 demonstration latrines that were built in private households. The statement noted that effective and long-term socio-economic development depended on the proper use and sustainable management of the facilities and called on all stakeholders to ensure their sustainability.

Mr Jacquemot said pledged France's commitment to support the development policy of Ghana through the official signing of a Partnership Framework Agreement, guiding the action of French Cooperation in Ghana over the coming years.

He said within this framework, Agence Francaise de Developp=E9ment was committed to funding programmes and project in the three sectors of concentration, which were rural development, water and sanitation and infrastructure mainly focused in urban areas.