ACCELERATE UNIVERSAL AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO SAFE AND AFFORDABLE DRINKING WATER AND ACCESS TO ADEQUATE AND EQU'ITABLE SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN RURAL AREAS

In the rural world there are more than 2,800 Rural Drinking Water Systems, with high coverage for concentrated rural localities but considerably reduced in Semi-concentrated (those with more than 8 dwellings/Km2 and more than 80 inhabitants) and non-concentrated ones.
We commit, with budgetary support, to advance from 2023 in the creation of 25 Rural Sanitation Systems (RSS) per year in Semi-concentrated rural localities, (growing from 120 to 520 by 2030), going from 39 thousand homes (2022) with drinking water systems in such localities to 69,681 (2030); and increasing the current 124 thousand beneficiaries to 216 thousand by that year.
To meet this commitment, we will leverage a Results-Based Program for Just Water Transition, with partial financing from the World Bank, which will focus on improving the sustainability and resilience of rural water and sanitation providers (2023-2027). The Program includes investments for the construction, rehabilitation, improvement and conservation of RWSS systems.
The institutional framework of the country's Rural Sanitation Services will be strengthened in the current year 2023 and will begin by expanding the staffing (90 positions) and powers of the ministerial part, in accordance with the new legal framework. During 2024, a Strategic Development Plan will be prepared for the Institution with a 2028-30 horizon in Potable Water and Rural Sanitation.
In financial matters, the Rural Sanitation Services Sub-Directorate of the Ministry of Public Works has been provided with a budget (2023) of 370 million USD for investment initiatives in drinking water, sanitation and wastewater treatment, which is a substantial increase in the project portfolio, under the commitment to sustain it for the next five years.
The new Rural Sanitation Investment Plan will allow the government to secure the necessary resources to reduce sanitation and partially treat wastewater by 2030, prioritizing the most vulnerable populations in rural areas. Additionally, three rural sanitation pilot projects will be implemented (2024 - 2027) to validate alternative wastewater treatment technologies in different geographic and demographic realities of the country.