Tamale, March 22, GNA – Safe Water Network has received a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to accelerate the implementation of community-based safe water enterprises (SWEs) in partnership with the Government and leading stakeholders.
Safe Water Network’s programmes aim to transform the water services landscape to enhance access to reliable and affordable safe water for millions of Ghanaians.
This was in a statement issued by Safe Water Network in New York, United States, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Ghana.
The statement quoted Kurt Soderlund, the Chief Executive Officer of Safe Water Network, as saying, “This grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation will help us build on 10 years of innovative operations in Ghana to ensure equitable access to safe water, sustainable services and water quality. We welcome the continued investment in our programmes to build the partnerships and practices necessary to reach many more communities with safe water.”
It said, “This multi-year partnership with the Hilton Foundation supports Safe Water Network’s programmes that address the gaps in access to safely managed water for small towns and communities of 3,000-10,000 people in Ghana.”
It said, “The work includes collaborating with stakeholders across the country to improve the policy and financing landscape for community-based SWEs, including quantifying the subsidy requirement for safely managed water from SWEs and building capacity in the sector to achieve scale.”
It added that “With this funding, Safe Water Network will establish a Ghana Alliance of SWE implementers for improved coordination and adoption of best practices; engage with Government of Ghana ministries and peer implementer Water4 on a national advocacy initiative; and share programme results through reports, hosting of annual ‘Beyond the Pipe Forums’, and participation in regional and international conferences.”
The statement said, “To prioritise operational sustainability, an independent private entity will be launched in Ghana to support long-term management of the H20ME! branded portfolio of 100+ SWEs that provide water access to over 400,000 people across the country.”
It said, “This grant also supports the implementation of two new H2OME! branded SWEs and retrofitting of three existing SWEs with direct piped connections to homes, schools, and businesses. The community-level infrastructure will reach more than 12,000 people in the Asutifi North District of the Ahafo Region of Ghana.”
It added that “This work, and the continued service of Safe Water Network’s H20ME! portfolio of SWEs across 35 districts in Ghana, will include the piloting of innovative technologies to increase operational efficiency, strengthen water quality assurance, and deliver a better understanding of community members as consumers.”
It said, “The Hilton Foundation is working with communities, civil society, donors, local and national governments, and private sector partners in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Uganda to create solutions that will sustain quality safe water services for one million people in low-income households, health facilities, and schools in sub-Saharan Africa by 2025.”
GNA