Port Vila, 18th September 2018: The Department of Water Resources (DoWR) began the roll out of a process to strengthen Vanuatu communities’ access to clean and safe water.
“While the New Zealand Government and other donor partners have funded a number of projects in communities, their support is important in improving the way the Government is delivering water to the people of Vanuatu in a much more sustainable and systematic way”, stated Alfred Maoh, Minister of Lands & Natural Resources. “This process means that Area Secretaries play a stronger role in identifying where the needs are at the community level”, he added.
To ensure everyone has access to clean and safe water, communities in Vanuatu need a Drinking Water Safety and Security Plan (DWSSP). It is important that non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations or individuals involved in water projects ensure the development of a Drinking Water Safety and Security Plan with participation by the community is part of all projects. Over 100 Drinking Water Safety and Security Plans have already been completed by government, individuals, and non-governmental organizations.
“This is a new approach adopted by the DOWR and is a Roadmap that guides the development and implementation for both New and Existing water supply systems using the Drinking Water Safety and Security Planning tool” stated Erickson Sammy, Director, Department of Water Resources. “This process is using the Decentralisation structure with the bottom-up approach to receiving water supply requests” Mr. Sammy further stated, and is being led Acting Manager of the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, Mr Erie Sami.