Guinea: ICRC donates equipment to improve water supply

The equipment is being handed over to the national water board, which will use it to supply drinking water to 200,000 people in Guinea's main towns and cities.

A ceremony took place today at the ICRC delegation in Conakry. "We greatly appreciate the ICRC's ongoing support in supplying drinking water to the peace-loving people of Guinea," said Mamadou Diouldé Diallo, director of the national water board. "We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the organization." The water board will install the 12 pumps and lay the three kilometres of electric cable. This equipment will supply more than 7 million litres of water per day to 200,000 people, i.e. 37 litres per person per day.

This equipment, worth 1.5 billion Guinean francs (140,000 Swiss francs, or 120,000 euro), will enable the water board to boost supply to four major prefectures of Guinea: Siguiri, Dubréka, Kissidougou and Pita. The supply to people living in these parts of the country is under pressure from infrastructure that has fallen into disrepair, unfavourable geological conditions and a population explosion in some cities.

"A reliable water supply to towns and cities is vital to improving hygiene and stopping the spread of disease," explained Julien Berda, who is in charge of coordinating the ICRC's projects in this sector.

This donation is just one aspect of the ICRC's many water projects in Guinea. The organization has been working closely with the Guinean authorities since 2001 to improve people's access to drinking water in urban and rural areas. Its work includes repairing and drilling wells and using its technical expertise to train engineers.

For further information, please contact:
Daphné Lucas, ICRC Conakry, tel: +224 63 35 13 61  or  +224 63 40 88 94