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World Bank to improve sanitation for poorest Egyptians

International financial institution unveils new project aimed at tackling inadequate sanitation services for 800,000 Egyptians living near the Nile Delta

Inhabitants of Egypt's Nile Delta. The World Bank is investing $500m to help improve sanitation for the people

The region is home to some of the country’s poorest inhabitants and they desperately need better access to water, waste disposal, and health services. The World Banks’s $550m venture will help improve the situation for Egypt’s rural poor in the Nile Delta, along with addressing river pollution caused by untreated sewage.

Currently, the World Bank has 26 active projects in Egypt

“One of our strategic areas for supporting Egypt is improving service delivery especially for the poor”, said Asad Alam, World Bank Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti. “The programme will improve the well-being of rural Egyptians who suffer from poor access to sanitation services and face serious environmental and health threats.”

The high ground water levels that are a characteristic of the Nile Delta cause sewage to run off into the river’s Al Salam Canal and Rosetta Branch, polluting freshwater reserves and endangering the health of millions of Egyptians.

“The programme is supporting the Egyptian government’s efforts to increase access to rural sanitation by shifting to a decentralised model that empowers the governorate level water and sanitation companies and makes them accountable to their citizens and stakeholders”, said Gustavo Saltiel, World Bank programme team leader.

Currently, the World Bank has 26 active projects in Egypt, which represents a $5.92bn commitment. These financial projects are designed to improve key sectors within the country including, energy, transport, water and sanitation, agriculture and irrigation, housing, social protection, as well as health and education.