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Published on: 22/06/2020

As part of the implementation of the Municipal Strategic Plan for Public Water and Sanitation Services of the commune of Banfora, developed with the support of IRC Burkina, the American Charity Water Foundation is funding a new initiative for a one-year period from 1 February 2020 to 28 February 2021. JI SANYANI, as the project is called, is initiated and implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), in collaboration with IRC and the Direction Régionale de l'Eau et de l'Assainissement (DREA) of the Cascades region. The US$ 1 million project concerns the rural area of Banfora, i.e. 19 out of 22 villages.

Girl near tap in Burkina Faso

JI SANYANI aims to increase equitable and universal access to safe and sustainable water services in targeted rural areas of the commune of Banfora in Burkina Faso. This new project is harmoniously integrated into the Municipal Strategic Plan for Public Water and Sanitation Services which has five strategic axes. The project intervenes precisely at the level of strategic axis 2: Universal access to improved drinking water services through the provision of safe water. To this end, it is important to recall that according to a study on the financing gaps of the first phase (2018-2020) of the strategic plan, axes 2, 3 and 4 require additional funding to the amount of FCFA 1 427 504 262. The gap in axis 2 alone represents 58% of the total funding gap over the period 2018-2020.

JI SANIYANI's funding therefore is welcome for additional technical and financial support to Banfora’s strategic plan. Furthermore, it is important support next to IRC's commitment to the commune since 2017 to support the mobilisation of partners and funding for the effective implementation of the strategic plan. JI SANIYANI plans 10 new boreholes and four autonomous water points, the rehabilitation of 38 boreholes, but also looks into the extension of two simplified drinking water supply systems and the construction of one. At the same time, the project intends to provide training support to water users' associations (WUAs) and water point managers.

Presenting during the workshop in Banfora

As part of the start-up process of the JI SANIYANI project, several activities have been planned. As such, a SMILER (Simple Measurement of Indicators for Learning and Factual Reporting) workshop was held from Wednesday 6 to Friday 8 May 2020 in the conference room of a hotel in the commune of Banfora. Locally elected officials (Banfora Town Hall), water and sanitation technicians representing the General Directorate for Drinking Water (DGEP) and DREA Cascades, and NGOs including IRC and the CRS staff of the JI SANYANI and SANYASSO projects, were all present to contribute to the common objective: to provide sustainable water services to the populations of Burkina Faso with a view to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030.

This meeting was a perfect opportunity to briefly present the main outline of the project and the MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) requirements of the donor, Charity Water. This workshop served as a consultation opportunity for the various stakeholders and aimed at setting up a monitoring and evaluation system that meets the needs of the project managers, the donor and the stakeholders, including the members of the beneficiary communities. Anything that will promote an efficient implementation of the project and thus progressively that of the Banfora strategic plan.

The commune of Banfora is to be a reference at the national and even international level in terms of access to sustainable drinking water and sanitation services everywhere, for everyone and at all times by 2030. This is the vision of the strategic plan of the commune of Banfora. It is not just an ambition, it represents the future of the whole population, especially the most vulnerable in the commune. Indeed, providing these communities with constant access to clean and safe water will improve general well-being and, in short, increase their capacity to strengthen local economies. JI SANYANI will undoubtedly contribute to meeting these challenges, especially as IRC will continue through its work as a hub with partners and the commune, to mobilise more financial resources to ensure that the commune is on track to achieve universal access to water and sanitation by 2030.

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