By Laura Nyabang’a
Mr. Willis Okello Ombai, Chief Executive Officer of the Water Sector Trust Fund (WaterFund), paid a courtesy visit to CS Eric Mugaa ‘s office at Maji House, Nairobi.
WaterFund is tasked with financing water, sanitation, and water resources management projects in underserved and marginalized rural and urban areas.
“During our meeting, we reviewed the projects and programs currently supported by WaterFund, discussing their progress and the financing mechanisms employed to ensure timely completion, in alignment with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda,” CS Eric Mugaa stated.
They also discussed the Horn of Africa Groundwater for Resilience (HoAGW4R) program, implemented by WaterFund and other agencies in Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir Counties.
The overarching objective of the project is to increase the sustainable access and management of groundwater in the Horn of Africa borderlands.
The project focuses on interventions in aquifer systems with regional and transboundary implications in the Kenya ASAL areas and drought affected communities within the North and North Eastern Development Initiative (NEDI) counties namely; Turkana, Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir and Garissa bordering Ethiopia and Somalia.
This initiative aims to enhance sustainable groundwater use and management for beneficiary communities.
The project is expected to benefit approximately 1.5 million people in rural areas by focusing on groundwater management, development, and utilization.