Only 38% of residents of the Central African Republic (CAR) have access to drinking water, but authorities are trying to improve the situation by increasing the capacity of treatment facilities and using reserve water pipelines, CAR Water Resources Director General Barnabe Falibai has told Sputnik.
"Only 38% of the country's residents have access to drinking water, according to the data of the CAR Institute of Statistics and a joint program of the World Health Organization [WHO] and the United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF]," Falibai said.
He recalled that, according to the UN plan for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, this number should be brought to 100% in both rural and urban areas of the CAR. Moreover, many country's residents do not have access to pipeline water and have to pump water manually from wells, he said.
Falibai added that the government has developed a three-year plan through 2025 to provide funding for various social projects that will improve people's living. Authorities have, among other things, changed the rural water supply strategy by launching "simplified drinking water supply mechanisms through reserve water pipelines." Authorities also trying to increase the capacity of water treatment plants in the country's capital, Bangui, and other areas.
Bangui pays attention to testing the quality of drinking water, and water samples are being tested in laboratories to meet WHO standards, he said. At the same time, the official admitted that it is necessary to constantly monitor the quality of drinking water in urban areas and pay special attention to its treatment.