(OCHA) - The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) has announced that it will fund two projects in eastern Sudan—totalling €1.3 million (about $1.45 million)—aimed at improving water, sanitation and hygiene services in Kassala State in treating and preventing malnutrition in Red Sea State.
The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector is only 14 per cent funded as of 6 November, according to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS) for Sudan, which tracks financial contributions against the 2016 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP).
In Kassala State, the €800,000 (US$ 891,000) one-year project—to be implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)—will address the severe need for water and waste management services. The project will provide sustainable access to water infrastructure and waste collection management systems in Kassala and Khashm El Girba towns. In order to ensure the sustainability of the project, communities will be trained in the management of these activities. The project will be implemented in coordination with the Government’s Water, Environmental Sanitation Department (WES) for Kassala State and the State Water Corporation, as well as national partners.
According to a press release issued by IOM, Kassala State has suffered from years of underdevelopment and limited infrastructure. This has severely affected the livelihoods of communities in the region and placed pressure on already scarce resources.
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Kassala is an arid or semi-arid climatic zone and environmental resources such as water and pasture are limited and variable across the state. Water resources are scarce in the area due to low, unpredictable rainfall in addition to groundwater shortages, except along the shallow aquifers in El Gash basin area, the capital. Pastures are limited due to livestock overgrazing combined with already minimal graze lands in rocky and partially mountainous areas in the north/southeast parts of Kassala.