Mali Signs 10-Year Agreement on Water Supply and Sanitation

Malian authorities have signed a 10-year sustainable development agreement in the areas of water supply, hygiene, and sanitation. This was announced by the government of Mali on social media on March 2.

The signing ceremony was led by the Minister of Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development, Mariam Tangara Doumbia. Also present at the event were members of the Malian government responsible for health, education, and energy, a UNICEF representative, and partners of the country's authorities.

"The sustainable development agreement is a tool for assessing the level of access to water, hygiene, and sanitation. The sustainability assessment of the first such agreement, signed in 2014 for a ten-year term, has made it possible to achieve significant results," the statement emphasized.

The new agreement represents a plan for the next 10 years to continue work on sustainable development and improving the quality of life for Mali's population. Under the plan, the government commits to ensuring continuous access to water supply, as well as developing mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of the agreement, while the authorities' partners commit to supporting financing mechanisms for the sustainable development sector.

In February, the head of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Claver Gatete, stated that more than 300 million people in Africa lack access to clean drinking water, and approximately 780 million lack adequate sanitation facilities.