SURWASH : Water Resources Minister Seeks More Funding

To improve funding for Sustainable Urban and Rural Hygiene Programme, there should be effective collaboration among State and Federal Governments.

Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev stated this at the third Federal Steering Committee Meeting of the Nigeria- Sustainable Urban and Rural Hygiene, (SURWASH) programme in Abuja.

Professor Utsev stressed that inadequate funding would affect the level of achievement of goals set in the work plan by the federal government.

“We are now here for the 3rd FSC meeting to review and approve 2024 Programme Work Plan for the smooth implementation of the SURWASH programme’.

According to the Minister, it is very important for States to adequately support this Programme by providing adequate funding to enable them take advantage of this opportunity to achieve results .

“This improved funding will enable us achieve the activities in this work plan and we should also consider scaling up our activities that will lead to improved disbursements by the end of the 2024 Programme year”.

The Minister informed the committee that they are below the annual disbursements in the previous years, therefore the need for participating States to be proactive and committed to the program.

“The SURWASH Programme has been designed by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation in partnership with the World Bank to support implementation of the National WASH Action Plan (NAP) launched in November 2018”.

“Through the SURWASH, the Federal Government would make infrastructural investments and drive reforms in the five National WASH Action Plan areas of governance, sustainability sanitation, funding & financing and monitoring & evaluation that serves as our Government’s overall strategy and vehicle for investment and sector reforms”, the Minister stated.

Professor Utsev said that the implementing States achieved modest results in preparation of Policies, Institutions and Reforms(PIR) and implemented annual performance activities under the Performance Improvement Action Plan (PIAPs) that will enable sustainability of the programme in the second phase.

By Georgina Humphrey, Edited By Grace Namiji