Mission Director’s speech – District Launch events in Amuria and Lira for the Water for Development Activity (WADA).

Mission Director’s speech – District Launch events in Aumuria and Lira for the Water for Development Activity (WADA).  

• Protocol

• I am honored to be here today to witness the groundbreaking of this public-private partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development and The Coca-Cola Company in Uganda. 

• This Global Development Alliance project, which is known as WADA, or the Water and Development Alliance, aims to improve water resources management and expand access to improved drinking water and sanitation services for poor and marginalized people in developing countries. 

• In Northern Uganda, this partnership is about helping to rebuild lives and communities, as people return to their homes following the long years of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.  Through this project, we will provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities to 30,000 people in Lira, Dokolo, and Amuria Districts. 

• New boreholes, hand-pumps, and solar-powered water supplies will prevent disease, increase personal security, and launch income generating opportunities.  By providing clean water in rural villages, schools, and trading centers in Northern Uganda, the Water and Development Alliance is facilitating the return of Ugandans who have been forced from their homes. 

• Communities have identified the need for water as critical for their successful return.  In villages without improved water sources, residents are required to travel long distances and this leaves women and girls vulnerable and brings risks of water borne diseases, among other hardships.  In some communities, the only access to water is a small, polluted puddle or spring. 

• Where there is a borehole, I often see long lines of jerry cans holding the places of those who are waiting for their chance at a pump.  By improving access to water near schools, health clinics and homes, this project aims to reduce the time and risk involved in collecting water, particularly for the women who are usually responsible for this task. 

• Under this project, USAID and Coca-Cola are working through their local partners, Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) and Cooperatzione International (COOPI) to reduce these risks and hardships. 

• The objective of this alliance is to improve access to water and sanitation by drilling up to 18 new boreholes with hand-pumps at 6 schools, 6 health centers and 6 trading villages in Lira, Dokolo and Amuria.  In addition to this, another 6 existing water points in six sub-counties will be rehabilitated, and up to 4 new solar powered motorized boreholes will be installed to serve a minimum population of 2,000 people each at sites with sufficient hydrological yield. 

• Latrines and hand-washing facilities will be established at seven schools and health centers.  A community awareness and mobilization program will use music, dance and drama, and essay writing competitions at schools, along with other information dissemination methods to support this new infrastructure.  Through this project, communities will be mobilized and empowered to maintain and protect their new water points. 

• The American people are heartened by the fact that northern Ugandans are reclaiming their land and are starting the process of rebuilding their homes and cultivating plots that have lain fallow for many years.  I am impressed by the resilience and resourcefulness of Ugandans, who clearly have a deep desire to revive their communities and livelihoods. 

• We recognize that government and donor assistance will continue to be needed – indeed increased – in the resettlement and rebuilding process.  The U.S. Government and the American people have demonstrated our solidarity with the people of northern Uganda through humanitarian and development assistance over many years, including some $88 million in aid in 2006.  An even greater amount, totaling $106 million, will be provided by the American people to Northern Uganda in 2007.

• The USAID-Coca Cola project will be breaking ground shortly, is one part of our contribution to that process.  This Water and Development Alliance (or WADA) project represents our strong belief that private sector assistance and investment will be as important to the North’s development as government and donor assistance.

• In recent years, the private sector in the United States has become a major participant in the development process and in supporting the well being of the people of the developing world.  Today, 85 percent of resource flows from the United States to the developing world are private and only 15 percent are public.

• Until now, USAID has supported water programs in northern Uganda through our humanitarian assistance program.  This Alliance with Coca Cola marks USAID’s transition from relief to development interventions in northern Uganda.  As USAID begins ramping up its water program, we will also be partnering with the National Water and Sewage Corporation and PlayPumps International to bring improved access to safe water to the Teso, Lango, and Acholi regions.

• Coca Cola has demonstrated outstanding corporate social responsibility and commitment in making this investment in northern Uganda.  We are pleased that Ugandans will benefit from the U.S. government’s global public-private partnership with The Coca-Cola Company.  Together we will achieve more than we could ever achieve alone.  Thank you for your attention.