Action Against Hunger and the Palestinian Water Authority unveil plan to improve access to safe water in the southern West Bank

Action Against Hunger, in cooperation with the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), has announced a plan to improve access to water supplies, increase daily per capita consumption and ensure safe, fair, and adequate access to safe drinking water for all populations in the southern West Bank, especially in communities that are unreached or underserved.

The plan, presented at an event attended by Ventura Rodriguez García, Head of the Spanish Development Cooperation (AECID) in Palestine, and the participation of international organisations and donors from the European Union, ECHO, UNICEF, OCHA, USAID, Enabel, Canada, Japan, and the Netherlands; last Thursday in Ramallah, also focuses on providing solutions for the development of the sector's infrastructure, improving the efficiency and technical and operational capacity of water providers, as well as accelerating the development of infrastructure in this vital sector for the population.

Ventura Rodriguez García, Head of the Spanish Development Cooperation (AECID) in Palestine attends the SWAP plan presentation in Ramallah

"It is a clear implementation plan and a tool that, if followed, will direct the resources and efforts of national and international actors and institutions in a coordinated and effective manner," says Svetlana Kapustian, country director of Action Against Hunger in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, who stressed that, if all the necessary resources are secured, the proposed solutions can be achieved within five years.

For his part, the director of the Palestinian Water Authority, Mazen Ghuneim, praised the efforts of the Action Against Hunger and PWA teams in constructing this plan, and stressed that the proposed steps fit in with PWA's strategy and efforts to increase the per capita water consumption ratio to reach the levels recommended by the World Health Organisation.

The Head of the Palestinian Water Authority, H.E. Eng. Mazen Ghunaim, SWAP launch event, Ramallah, 28.9.2022

The plan stems from a strategic study carried out in Hebron and Bethlehem Governorates, under the name "Action Plan for Developing Drinking Water Services in the South West Bank - SWAP", and is included in the framework of the "Life Palestine" project, implemented by Action Against Hunger and funded by the Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation (AECID).

The total cost of the proposed interventions and solutions is estimated at more than USD 100 million, distributed in different core areas, the most important of which is the construction and strengthening of water supply networks, enhancing the operational and technical capacities of water providers.