Kavango West Health Centres Benefit from New Sanitation Facilities

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Windhoek:Five health facilities in the Kavango West Region have been equipped with new sanitation facilities, provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform at the Mupini Health Centre. These improvements were made under the Integrated Water Sector Support Programme (IWSSP), a government initiative supported by the African Development Bank.According to Namibia Press Agency, the facilities benefiting from this initiative include the Mupini Health Centre and the Kapako, Mbururu, Nzinze, and Sharukwe clinics. The IWSSP Programme Coordinator, Heiki Hamunyela, highlighted that the programme is valued at N$3.3 billion. This funding comes from an African Development Bank loan of approximately N$1.9 billion, a grant from the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative of about N$51.4 million, and a Government of Namibia counterpart contribution of approximately N$1.3 billion.Hamunyela explained that the programme aims to improve access to water and sanitation services, strengthen water security, and enhance institutional capacity in the water sector. It consists of three main components: the development of bulk water infrastructure, rural water supply and sanitation, and the construction of sanitation facilities. These investments are expected to enhance sanitation services and living conditions for communities within the region.The ministry's Executive Director, Teofilus Nghitila, noted that progress was initially slow when he joined the ministry about a year ago, with several project sites abandoned despite available funding. He reorganized the team to speed up implementation, resulting in the completion of several facilities that were due for handover years ago. Nghitila also encouraged young people to engage in construction and plumbing tenders at constituency and regional levels, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to the country's development.