Last week, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, launched three water and sanitation (WASH) projects in Kenya. The events were presided over by the Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment and Acting Global Water Coordinator James Peters and USAID’s Mission Director for Kenya and East Africa Tina Dooley-Jones. 

In Busia County, the delegation and the County Governor Sospeter Ojaamong commissioned the Alema Water Project. The initiative implemented under the Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (KIWASH) project will expand the water distribution system to bring clean, affordable water to over 12,000 residents of Funyula sub-County. In Turkana County, they launched the Lorengelup Community Water Project with Turkana County Governor Josphat Nanok. The water scheme funded under The Kenya Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development (RAPID) program will support water access for both people and livestock and serve approximately 5,500 beneficiaries in Lorengelup location, in Turkana Central Sub-County.

On the last day, the delegation officially launched The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Finance (WASH-FIN) program with the Principal Secretary for Water Services, in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Prof. Fred Segor at Windsor Hotel in Nairobi. The project’s objective is to improve WASH sector performance to increase private sector engagement and commercial financing to meet Kenya’s universal access objectives.

“The United States Government remains a committed partner to help Kenya achieve new targets under the Sustainable Development Goals on water and sanitation,” said Dr. Dooley-Jones

James Peters led the development of the new U.S. Government Global Water Strategy published in November last year. The Global Water Strategy aims at supporting 15 million people to gain access to safe water and 8 million to gain access to improved sanitation. In this new strategy, Kenya is among the 13 priority countries where the strategy will be implemented.

“The new Global Water Strategy maintains focus on expansion of WASH services, but also increases attention to strengthening water sector governance, financing and sector institutions,” said Mr. Peters.

In Kenya, the USAID WASH program focuses on water supply and sanitation access, hygiene promotion, management, and environmental issues.

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BACKGROUND

KIWASH

The Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (KIWASH) project is a five-year, $50 million investment by the U.S. Government and implemented by USAID. KIWASH works collaboratively across nine counties with county governments, private sector companies and hundreds of communities to improve access to drinking water and adequate sanitation services for more than a million Kenyans.

Kenya RAPID

The Kenya Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development (RAPID) program is implementing an innovative approach to expand access to water and sustainable livestock and rangeland management practices in five northern counties of Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir. The five-year, $35.5 million program, which began in September 2015 works with 21 partners in a public-private partnership. The program seeks to improve and increase water supply availability from 37 percent to more than 50 percent of residents in the five counties. USAID will contribute $12.5 million to the program.

WASH-FIN

The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Finance (WASH-FIN) program is a U.S. Government-led initiative coordinated by USAID to close the financing gap for WASH in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The event will highlight the need for improving WASH sector performance in order to increase the sources of investment financing required to meet Kenya’s universal access objectives – an issue that continues to impact social and economic development in Kenya – to facilitate water and sanitation projects that will contribute to improving health, livelihoods, and overall economic development in the country.