Switzerland pledges $20m to AfDB for sanitation projects

28 November 2011

A Swiss agency has pledged $20 million (£12.8 million) to a project aimed at improving water supply and sanitation in rural Africa.

The European country's Agency for Development and Cooperation will give the money to the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Trust Fund - a project managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Part of a wider goal to reach 80 per cent water supply coverage on the continent by 2015, the money will be used to engage governments and donors into making more funds and resources available to accelerate investment in sanitation and water supply infrastructure.

Sering Jallow, director of the African Water Facility and the AfDB's water and sanitation department, welcomed the contribution.

"It is a testimony to the important role that the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative plays in accelerating access to basic water and sanitation services," he added.

US-based charity Plan recently pledged $7 million to help boost rural sanitation projects in Africa. 

Category: Water