The Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is approving 1.2 billion Kenyan shillings (over $10.5 million) in funding for Kenya. The country's Water Sector Trust Fund (WaterFund) will reinvest the funds in the construction of water and sanitation infrastructure in six counties.
The funding agreement was signed on February 18, 2022, in Naivasha between the Chief Administrative Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Andrew Tuimur and Elizabeth Matioli, the Program Officer at the Danish Embassy in Nairobi. It involves the provision of 1.2 billion Kenyan shillings (over $10.5 million) in investment from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). “This funding is in addition to the 3.5 billion Kenyan shillings (nearly $30.74 million) already provided by the Danish government to provide water services to eight counties in Kenya,” says Elizabeth Matioli.
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Kenya’s WaterFund will redistribute the funding among six arid and semi-arid (Asal) counties including Garissa, Lamu, Marsabit, Isiolo, Tana River and Turkana. Each area will receive about 150 million Kenyan shillings (more than $1.3 million) to expand its water supply system as the counties experience a prolonged drought that is undermining people’s livelihoods. “The ministry is urging the six selected counties to move quickly to commit and sign a memorandum of understanding with the WaterFund, contributing 10% in cash and 5% in kind of about 150 million Kenyan shillings allocated to each county,” says Andrew Tuimur, the chief administrative secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation.
The Kenyan government will choose between water service providers, local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations or a consortium of different partners to carry out the work.
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The new project in Kenya also includes a sanitation component. The Kenyan government’s goal is to increase the country’s sanitation rate to 40% by the end of 2022 from the current 20%.
The launch of the program for sustainable management of, and access to, water and sanitation in Kenya is scheduled for July 2022. The work will extend until 2027.
Inès Magoum
