Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the World (ranked 188 out of 191 countries in the 2022 Human Development Index, and 5 out of 179 in the 2022 Fragile States Index). According to UNICEF/WHO, 63% of the Central African population did not have access to at least basic water service, but in practice the lack of regular maintenance means that 90% of the population has no or intermittent access.

Water for Good is tackling water poverty in the Central African Republic. Their large-scale, long-term approach includes:

• Working with local authorities and other development stakeholders to collect water data, strengthen public water institutions and help them make evidence-based technical and financial decisions
• Incubating the local private sector to build, rehabilitate and maintain water infrastructure, even in remote rural areas
• Exploring and piloting innovative finance mechanisms to sustain rural water services, including results-based finance and carbon finance
• Broadcast hygiene education and peacebuilding programmes through their local radio station

Since 2004, Water for Good has built over 1,000 new water systems (boreholes with handpumps, and solar-powered piped water networks), rehabilitated over 800 old ones and regularly maintains infrastructure, ensuring a sustainable water service for over 850,000 people.

The Vitol Foundation has supported Water for Good since 2018, through its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene as well as Humanitarian programmes. We contribute to Water for Good’s strategy to progress towards universal and sustainable water services in the 3 Western prefectures of the Central African Republic, maintain rural water services in an area larger than Uganda, and expand their maintenance services in new areas in the country and beyond.