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ADB Supports Participatory Process for Improving Water Supply and Sanitation in Rural Nepal

KATHMANDU, NEPAL (22 April 2002) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$750,000 technical assistance grant to the Government of Nepal to prepare a community-based water supply and sanitation project. The grant will come from ADB's Japan Special Fund, financed by the Government of Japan.

Bimal P. Koirala, Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Richard Vokes, Country Director of the ADB's Nepal Resident Mission, signed the Technical Assistance Agreement Letter today on behalf of the Government and the ADB, respectively. Japan Embassy First Secretary to Nepal Mr. Saburo Sato, was also present at the signing ceremony.

With less than 0.4 percent of the world's population, Nepal possesses 2.3 percent of the world's water resources. Despite this abundance of water, however, the harsh terrain makes access to safe water supply difficult for many. The associated burdens are borne disproportionately by women and children. According to UN estimates, waterborne diseases such as diarrhea account for 25 percent of all childhood deaths in the country. In terms of national morbidity patterns, ailments related to inadequate water and sanitation account for more than 70 percent of all ailments reported.

"The proposed project supports the Government's poverty reduction strategy and the ADB's overarching goal of poverty reduction by improving the living conditions of the poor, particularly women and children who face the brunt of water-related hardships," says Mr. Vokes. The project preparatory technical assistance will include a professionally facilitated sector-wide consensus building among all stakeholders to ensure effective local participation in the development of the proposed project. The key components of the project will be designed by the stakeholders through this process.

The consensus process initiated through the ADB assistance will be carried out in close collaboration with other development partners active in the sector, including the Department for International Development, UK (DFID), UNICEF, World Bank, and Water Aid, among others. The TA and its participatory processes will focus on strengthening collaboration and coordination among all the development partners.

Through the participatory process, the assistance will first establish a strategy for prioritizing investment decisions in the rural water supply and sanitation sector, and then develop a project that is community driven. The implementation strategy for the project will be designed to support the Government's decentralization policy. The assistance will also explore effective ways to mainstream women's participation in the decision-making process for the project and in its implementation. The project will have integrated water supply, sanitation, and health and hygiene education components.

ADB assistance will cover nearly 80 percent of the total cost of US$910,000 of the technical assistance. The Government will finance the remainder. The technical assistance will be executed by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and implemented over a period of ten months starting July 2002.

Visit ADB's water site.

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