Water is a fundamental human need. Yet access to clean water remains a major challenge in many countries. In Africa, millions of people, usually women and girls, walk miles every day to collect water for their families. It takes so long to collect water that they often do not have time left for anything else in the day, andthe girls miss out on education, further trapping them into a cycle of poverty. When they finally do collect the water, the only source is often streams and ponds where water is mostly contaminated. Many take the risk and drink contaminated water.Clean water supply is crucial to Africa’s development.
Tanzania is the 13th largest country in Africa, within the African Great Lakes
Tanzania is the 13th largest country in Africa, within the African Great Lakes (series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift) region. Three of Africa's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania. To the north and west lie Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the continent's deepest lake. The eastern shore has the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore. The Kalambo water falls in the southwestern region of Rukwa are the second highest uninterrupted fall in Africa.
Tanzania has been blessed, both on the surface and below ground water. Despite the vast amounts of fresh water available, many Tanzanians are still faced with water shortages due to insufficient capacity to access and store it both in rural and urban areas. Clean portable water is a scarce resource in Tanzania. Few households have access to clean drinking water from a piped source. Only a small fraction of rural households can access water to irrigate their farms.
Exim Bank on behalf on Government of India has extended the following Lines of Credit for water projects amounting to USD 1038.65 mn in Tanzania since 2012.
To implement the water sector development programme and to succeed in the mission, the Government of Tanzania sought cooperation from India. Exim Bank on behalf on Government of India has extended the following Lines of Credit for water projects amounting to USD 1038.65 mn in Tanzania since 2012.
The first Phase is operational and is providing potable water to 2 million people in Dar-es-Salaam.
Through the Lines of Credit, the objective of increasing the water production and distribution capacity of in Tanzania was achieved. The water production and distribution capacity of Upper Ruvu water supply system increased from 82 million litres per day to 200 million litres per day and supply more water to the Dar-es-Salaam region. The first Phase is operational and is providing potable water to 2 million people in Dar-es-Salaam. The other projects which are underway are expected to supply clean water to many more regions of Tanzania.