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Madam Bush ’water’ for Tanzania
2006-09-22 09:01:52
By Guardian Reporter
US First Lady Laura Bush announced a groundbreaking USD 60 million (equivalent to 80bn/-) alliance with Tanzania and nine other sub-Saharan African countries to bring the benefits of clean drinking water to up to 10 million people by 2010.
A press statement issued by the US Embassy yesterday in Dar es Salaam says in the new innovative water systems, dozens will be put into place in clinics and schools around the country,
’’PlayPumps are children’s money-go-rounds attached to a water pump and a storage tank. When the wheel turns, clean drinking water is produced.
PlayPumps are fuelled by a limitless energy source: children at play,’’ the First Lady is quoted as saying.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will provide a combined $10 million to the alliance over three years, according to the statement.
’’This will directly support the provision and installation of PlayPump water systems in many schools, health centers and HIV-affected communities in Tanzania,’’ says the statement.
Lack of clean water is one of the biggest health challenges facing Tanzania today, explains the statement.
Across Africa, millions die each year from preventable waterborne diseases and up to half the region’s population at any one time suffers from diseases related to unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation, says the statement.
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