USAID Announces Landmark Agreement to Ensure Safe Drinking Water in Manyara

Babati — The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) today celebrated the signing of an agreement that will promote quality assurance testing for drinking water and foster safety management for rural communities to ensure water quality in Manyara. USAID will operationalize this agreement in partnership with the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) through the Rural Evidence and Learning for Water (REAL-Water) project. The USAID Water for the World research plan supports Tanzania’s efforts to improve water services in rural areas and keep rural drinking water safe. The research from the USAID REAL-Water project will help develop plans to provide professional lab testing for water systems managed by RUWASA.

Safe drinking water is essential for public health and development. This funding window will provide resources that enable communities to commission testing services to professional government and privately-owned laboratories, and also provides knowledge to communities for water safety management. 

“The implementation of USAID’s REAL-Water in Tanzania will strengthen our partnership with government, rural communities, and other stakeholders to improve rural water supply services and ensure safe drinking water for generations to come,” said Engr. Francis Mtitu, USAID/Tanzania Water and Sanitation Project Management Specialist.

“As we move forward, I urge everyone to adhere to the principles of transparency, accountability, and inclusion. Let’s work together to protect our water resources for current and future generations. Each one of us has a role to play and together we can make a big difference.” said Honorable Queen Cuthbert Sendiga, Manyara Regional Commissioner.

USAID REAL-Water will evaluate the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the Water Quality Assurance Fund through collaborations with the Ministry of Water (MoW), RUWASA and communities in Mbulu and Hanang districts of the Manyara region. Over 78,000 people will benefit from the evaluation and the results of this evaluation will elevate the consideration for options to expand to other additional regions of Tanzania.

For more information about this press release, please contact the USAID/Tanzania Development Outreach and Communications Team at Dardocs@usaid.gov.