Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Enhanced Integrated Framework ...

percent of households in Kabul and 30 percentof households in other major urban areaswill have access to piped water andimproved sanitation.• Environment: Environmental regulatoryframeworks and management services willbe established for the protection of air andwater quality, waste management andnatural resources.• Agriculture: The necessary institutional,regulatory and incentive framework will beestablished for securing access to irrigation,water management systems and food security.• Rural Development: Rural developmentwill be enhanced for 90 percent of villagesthrough the provision of safe drinking water,sanitation (50 percent) and small scaleirrigation (47 percent) by the end of 2010.Millennium Development Goals: TheMDGs state that: “access to water and sanitation,electricity, and livelihoods sources havebeen negatively impacted through the decadesof war. Drinking water supplies reach only 23percent of Afghanistan’s total population – 43percent in urban areas and 18 percent in ruralareas. The country’s total sanitation coverageof only 12 percent deserves attention. Whilearound 28 percent of the urban population iscovered, only 8 percent of rural population hadaccess to improved sanitation in 2006. 46Target 10 of the MDGs is to halve by 2020 theproportion of people without sustainable accessto safe drinking water and ensure environmentalsustainability.The sector strategy incorporates feedback andcomments from the sub-national consultations.Access to clean drinking water has been identifiedas a priority in the Provincial DevelopmentPlans in all provinces. Participants generallyvoiced concern that unsafe drinking water is acause of disease, and the provision of safedrinking water is therefore seen to be as mucha public health issue as an issue of infrastructure,rural and urban development. In over aquarter of PDPs, the need for access to cleandrinking water is specifically raised by women46 According to the best estimates of social indicators for childrenin Afghanistan, UNICEF, few places in the world face suchscarce and alarming water supply and sanitation coverage levels.who often have the responsibility of collectingwater for the household. However, this issue isnot confined to the domestic context and thePDPs in six provinces highlighted the need foraccess to safe drinking water in public institutionssuch as schools.Current situation in the sectorGiven the importance of water resources, theGovernment has made improved water managementa high priority. Steps are being takento address shortcomings in governance as wellas meeting some of the most pressing needsthrough donor funded projects. Some keyachievements have been:• The formulation of the Supreme Councilfor Water Affairs Management (SCWAM)to coordinate and overcome the problemsof diverse ministerial responsibilities forwater management. A Technical Secretariathas been established to develop newwater laws and develop a consistent set ofpolicies for water management. New environmentallaws were recently enacted bythe National Assembly.• Steps have been undertaken to re-organizewater resource management on the basis ofan Integrated Water Resource ManagementSystem based on the five main river basins.Development will still be planned and implementedcentrally, but in the future individualriver basin organizations or authoritieswill be established. Feasibility studieshave been completed or are underway forsmall, medium and large water infrastructureprojects. The rehabilitation and modernizationof hydrological stations havebeen started. Research and modeling of theavailability of allocation of safe drinkingwater supplies in Kabul are being developed.• Significant progress has been made in providingincreased access to safe drinkingwater and sanitation. The Afghanistan UrbanWater Supply and Sewerage Corporation(AUWSSC) has been established.Some 80 water supply and sanitation projectshave been implemented around thecountry. Research and assessment of theunderground water resources available toKabul is on-going. The urban water supplysystems will be transformed into quasipublicagencies. Two million urban resi-Economical and Social Development 83