WINDHOEK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's percentage of rural households with access to potable water within a radius of 2.5 km has increased from the baseline of 91 percent in 2017/18 to 96 percent by 2021/22, an official said Monday.
Equally, the percentage of households with access to improved sanitation facilities improved from 42 percent in 2016/17 to 54 percent over the past five years, Namibia's Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein, said in a statement at a Strategic Plan Workshop held on Monday.
"The construction of the Nectartal dam and eight other earth dams was completed, enabling opportunities for intensive agriculture and enhanced water supply," he added.
According to Schlettwein, the Africa Development Bank-funded Water Sector Program and counterpart programs funded by the KfW Development Bank were recently rolled out to strengthen the integrated water supply systems countrywide.
"The planned desalination plant in Erongo Region will be added to the pack, which cumulatively will give the national security of bulk water supply until the year 2037," he added.
Meanwhile, the minister said despite the improvements, Namibia's water supply gaps continue to prevail with regards to generation and distribution, with bulk water distribution infrastructure in need of urgent refurbishment, while deep pockets of potable water scarcity continue to pose daily challenges to some rural communities. ■