Bringing drinking water to rural Ivory Coast

According to the UN, 54% of Ivory Coast’s rural population have access to at least basic drinking water sources. With 46% of the country’s 24 million people living in rural areas, that leaves more than five million people without access to even basic sources. Infant mortality is nearly twice that of the global average and life expectancy is 53 years. To address this, the government of Ivory Coast has allocated more than 2 million Euros to the “Water for All” programme.

The majority of development projects like this require funding by international financial institutions (IFIs). To qualify for funding, they must meet national and international standards for environmental, social and health impacts, amongst other things, and show that they have management systems in place to support the ongoing project.

Ramboll recently supported developer Owini by providing the environmental & social management system (ESMS) for a project to build water supply infrastructure in rural areas. The project will positively influence and improve the health and well-being of the population by bringing drinking water to communities in 95 remote areas as part of the wider Water for All initiative.

The project involves the installation of groundwater extraction wells, building water treatment compounds with water storage towers and a network of pipelines for water delivery into people’s homes.

Ramboll’s ESMS supported the project developer to meet the standards required as part of the project financing agreement. With Ramboll’s support, the developer successfully received its loan for the project and the environmental and social performance will be monitored throughout the construction phase.

In follow-up to the ESMS, Ramboll plans to provide training to transfer knowledge and empower the local workforce, and undertake reviews to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the management system during construction to secure the project's future.