Firm completes Wash project

A UNITED Nations-funded water and sanitation project in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, has been completed and will improve access to water and promote basic hygiene in communities, especially schools.
Appropriate Technology Projects (ATproject) completed basic water sanitation health and hygiene (Wash) projects under the Klinpela Kommuniti Project funded by the European Union (EU) and UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef).
The five-year contract to establish Wash facilities included installation of water supplies to schools and communities.
ATproject director Arthur Layton confirmed the establishment of Wash facilities in 40 schools out of the 50 schools in Goroka district since May 2019.
He said the company had eight schools remaining to complete two of which were in Wesan, which was near the border with Madang.
“Due to bad road and weather conditions, we cannot reach them but we’ll reach them in the New Year,” he said.
Arthur said poor sanitation and lack of access to clean water was the cause of diseases such as typhoid which were preventable.
He thanked Unicef and EU for working with the Government, partners and the people of Goroka to mobilise communities to promote a change in attitude and behaviour when it came to health issues.
Goroka district is one of the three pilot project districts that have benefited from the Wash programme with the others – Mt Hagen in Western Highlands, Nawaeb in Morobe and Central Bougainville, in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
The pilot stage is targeting over 160,000 people, including 40,000 children from 200 schools, 36 health centres and 800 communities across the four districts.