The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed $3 million to the African Water Facility (AWF) amid the sanitation and hygiene crisis in Nigeria and other African nations.

This is contained in a statement issued on the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) website.

According to the statement, the funding will support the preparation of water and sanitation investment projects in Africa.

It said this would be done by providing grants and technical assistance to African countries and regional economic communities.

The AWF, an initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), is hosted by the AfDB.

It is the only African project preparation facility focused on addressing water and sanitation issues in Africa, helping African countries achieve the objectives and targets set by the water-related Sustainable Development Goals and African Water Vision 2025.

It does this by preparing innovative water and sanitation projects across the continent, and said access to water and sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa remains poor.

“Approximately 400 million people lack basic water supply services, while over 700 million people have no access to decent sanitation,” stated the bank. “Nearly 200 million people still practise open defecation, and 750 million people have no access to hygiene.”

The AfDB statement added, “Achieving water security and sanitation for all requires large-scale investment in water supply and sanitation, improved governance of water resources and operations, and the design of climate-resilient infrastructure.”

The development bank explained that since its inception, the facility provided €205 million in grant funding for water and sanitation projects in Africa.

(NAN)