Haiti: US$ 10 million World Bank grant to bolster efforts against cholera, WHO warns that 400,00 could be affected

In response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, the World Bank is preparing a US$ 10 million Cholera Emergency Grant as part its US$ 479 million reconstruction support. As of 22 November 2010 the outbreak has caused 1,523 deaths and could kill up to 10,000 people and affect 40,000 if the outbreak is not contained, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The UN has appealed for US$ 164 million for additional treatment centres, scaled-up public information campaigns, supplies of medical equipment, rehydration salts, water purification tablets and bars of soap to respond to the outbreak.

The US$ 10 million grant will bolster the surveillance and monitoring capacity of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) and the Haitian National Directorate of Water Supply and Sanitation (DINEPA). The initiative is aligned with the Cholera Inter-Sector Response Strategic Plan for Haiti, under the leadership of MSPP and DINEPA.

The grant will also help NGOs provide clean water and basic health services to affected people, and safe sanitation and waste management in high risk areas. These activities will complement existing hygiene awareness and prevention efforts such as the creation of a “Public Health Brigade”.

Through a Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery grant of US$ 200,000, the World Bank is identifying national and international actors already involved in these tasks, preparing a standardized training plan and training a core group of 250 trainers. It will also finance an awareness and prevention campaign.

The Bank has also provided assistance to the Directorate of Civil Protection since the beginning of the cholera outbreak to coordinate the response of the Government and its partners. This assistance has supported the setup and manning of the National Emergency Operation Center and management of the national campaign “Konbit kont Kolera,” which raises awareness on cholera and its prevention.

Civil unrest since 15 November 2010 has slowed down several activities, particularly in the Northern city of Cap Haitian. Trainings on cholera treatment and initiatives to chlorinate water for 300 000 people had to be postponed.

For the latest updates on the Haiti cholera outbreak go to ReliefWeb.

Source: World Bank, 24 Nov 2010

Peru: ministry publishes new water regulations

Peru’s agriculture ministry (Minag) was expected to publish the country’s new water resources regulations by the end of January 2010. Peru’s new water law, approved by congress last March, guarantees water as a human right that cannot be bought or used as private property. It also mandates the creation of 14 decentralised water basin organizations (AAAs), partially funded by World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loans.

Read full article on: : BNamericas.com [subscription site], 20 Jan 2010

Peru: World Bank approves grant to combat glacial melting

The World Bank has approved a grant of US$450,000 for a programme to help mitigate the negative effects of glacial melting in Peru’s tropical Andean region. The grant will be used to gather scientific information on the impact of glacial melting. Andean glaciers, which supply 70mn people with water, have shrunk by 30% over the past three decades and are likely to disappear by 2030.

Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 13 Jan 2010

Brazil, Pernambuco: World Bank working with state govts to improve sanitation

The World Bank is working with a number of Brazilian states to support sanitation projects that increase sewerage coverage and wastewater treatment, an official from Pernambuco state’s planning and development office said.

One of Pernambuco’s biggest problems is the lack of wastewater treatment, especially in inland towns such as Caruarú, Toritama and Santa Cruz. These towns form Brazil’s second denim producing pole so much of their wastewater is also industrial.

A law was passed years ago forbidding the direct dumping of industrial wastewater into surface water. However, about 80% of the textile colouring industry in the three Pernambuco towns alone is informal and, therefore, lacks industrial wastewater treatment equipment and the resources to implement it, the official said.

The World Bank is working on a project to collect household and industrial wastewater in this area and transport it to a wastewater treatment plant to be built in state capital Recife – some 350km towards the coast – before finally releasing the water into the sea, said the official.

However, local authorities are looking for financial support to improve on site domestic and industrial wastewater treatment to avoid further contamination of surface water in an area that is already somewhat arid, the official said.

Government officials and private sector representatives are beginning to meet with international experts and engineers to discuss possible solutions and design technically and financially feasible initiatives that contribute to local and regional sustainable development, the official added.

Web site: World Bank – Pernambuco Sustainable Water project

Source: Eva Medalla, BNamericas.com [subscription site], 14 Oct 2009

Nicaragua, Managua: World Bank to finance US$30mn water project

The World Bank (WB) is to finance a US$30mn project to install pipelines in the driest areas of Nicaraguan capital Managua. The project, announced by national water and sewerage utility Enacal, seeks to solve the city’s water supply problem by installing potable water and sewerage systems in 36 locations, mainly in districts five and six.

Enacal executive president Ruth Selma Herrera said that WB is donating US$15mn for the project, and will lend Enacal the rest of the money at an interest rate of 1%, to be repaid over 30 years. The project will begin in 2010 and will benefit some 60,000 residents.

Managua’s mayor Daysi Torres Torres said the municipality will support Enacal throughout the project, including an ongoing awareness campaign to teach people not to dump trash in streams and streets.

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 27 Aug 2009

Nicaragua: government launches rural water, sewerage development program

The Nicaraguan government has launched the PRASNICA program, aimed at developing water and sewerage infrastructure in rural areas, the presidential office reported on its website.

Launched in León municipality, the program is being financed with a US$19.6mn donation from the World Bank. The financial entity is also providing a US$200,000 loan to make up the total budget, the release said.

The program aims to carry out 233 projects nationwide to reduce existing gaps in coverage – focusing on communities of indigenous and African descent – and will benefit 120 municipalities, covering a population of 176,223.

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 09 Jul 2009

Paraguay: ministry creates water, sanitation unit

Paraguay’s public works and communications ministry (MOPC – Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Comunicaciones) is creating a unit which will be responsible for drawing up government policies for the water sector, local paper ABC Color Digital reported. The new potable water and sewerage services unit is being supported by a US$2mn World Bank (WB) loan [component 1 of the Paraguay Water & Sanitation Sector Modernization project] and will operate as part of MOPC. The formation of the unit is part of the law that established the country’s sanitation services regulator, which states that MOPC must help the government create public policies and financing for the sanitation sector. The entity is also receiving help from [the Inter-American Development Bank] IDB and the UN to draw up a strategic plan for the sector.

Source: BNamericas [subscription], 05 May 2009

Paraguay: WB Approves US$64 Million to Improve Water, Sanitation for Most Vulnerable

The World Bank [has] approved a US$64 million loan to increase the efficiency, coverage and sustainability of water and sanitation services in Paraguay. The project will directly benefit almost 17 percent of Paraguayans, especially the most vulnerable and underserved groups.

[...] The Water and Sanitation Sector Modernization Project seeks to:

• Improve sector governance;
• Improve water services and increase access to sanitation [for one million people] in Metropolitan Asunción; and
• Increase access to sustainable water and sanitation services [for nearly 24,500 people] in rural areas [and] to build and/or expand approximately 30 water systems to support more than 6,000 indigenous peoples in rural areas.

For more information on this project go here.

Source: World Bank, 14 Apr 2009

Dominican Republic: US$27.5 Million for Water and Sanitation in Tourist Areas

The World Bank [has] approved [on 02 April 2009] a US$27.5 million loan to improve the potable water and sanitation supply in the tourist area of Puerto Plata, located in the North of the Dominican Republic.

The Water and Sanitation in Tourist Areas Project will benefit 128,000 Dominicans in poor parts of the region. In addition, it will offer an extra boost to the Dominican government by creating a policy framework and a national strategy for the water sector.

This initiative will be implemented by a coordination unit of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (SEEPYD) and by the Aqueducts and Sewerage Corporation of Puerto Plata (CORAAPLATA).

[...] This project will develop a technical assistance component for the sector at the national level, another one to rehabilitate and expand sanitation services in the towns of Playa Dorada, Sosúa, Montellano, Cabarete, La Unión y La Bombita, and a third one for the administrative management of the project.

Besides this new loan, in 2006 the World Bank completed a US$5 million Project for Wastewater Disposal in Tourism Centers, installing small-diameter submarine outfalls and a series of low-cost wastewater disposal technologies in Puerto Plata.

Source: World Bank, 02 April 2009

Honduras, Ocotepeque: World Bank provides US$1.06 mn for water projects

The World Bank has allocated US$6mn for water and road infrastructure projects in Honduran municipalities La Labor, Dolores, Merendón, Fraternidad, Lucerna and Sensenti [collectively known as the Güisayote community], in Ocotepeque department, paper La Prensa reported, [based on an agreement signed in 2007].

Projects include potable water works to serve the communities of Llano Largo, Cerro Grande, La Granadilla and Agua Zarca, which are already underway. Of the total amount, 20mn lempiras (US$1.06mn) will be spent on water projects.

Source: Renzo Dasso, BNamericas [subscription site], 20 Mar 2009