Africa-Press – Angola. The National director of waters, Elsa Ramos, pointed out yesterday the National Forum of Water and Sanitation (FONAS) as an important technical platform for the mobilization of resources, which will contribute to improve the coordination of the water sector and enhance the engagement of potential stakeholders.
Speaking at the opening of the National Water and Sanitation Forum (FONAS), which took place yesterday in Luanda, he underlined that FONAS should be the point of support between project initiatives and their technical and continuous effectiveness, through constant support from entities of the sector, making available the available technical capacity to reflect beyond the State.
He said that the Forum will integrate the various sectors, including civil society, seeking to present a contribution to the improvement of the current situation, taking into account the existing experiences in other countries, which “could serve as models so that Angola cannot repeat what has been verified elsewhere”.
He recalled that in Angola there is a set of bodies and entities dedicated to the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, namely the National Water Council, Regulatory Institute of Electricity and Water Services (IRSEA), which could be mistakenly understood as also the attributions and competences that FONAS may have.
“The National Water Council is a support mechanism for the holder of Executive Power. FONAS will be a technical platform whose sole attribution is the dissemination of information on the sector, aiming to fill the existing gap in contact with donors and financiers, in particular, of an international, bilateral or multilateral nature”, he explained.
On his turn, the Deputy Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Angola, Andrew Trevett, praised the Angolan Executive for establishing the National Forum of the Water and Sanitation Sector of Angola, as an essentially technical platform, to enhance articulation and collaboration between sectoral entities.
“With the implementation of FONAS, Angola joins several countries that already implement sectoral coordination platforms, with an important impact on the improvement of results for the water and sanitation sector”, he highlighted.
In his opinion, the challenges are enormous, if one looks at the data from the latest Survey of Multiple and Health Indicators, pointing out that a little more than half of households, around 53%, have access to sources of water suitable for drinking, 67% of which in urban areas and 32% in rural areas.
He said that concerted actions can contribute to achieving improvements in the current scenario.
The National Water and Sanitation Forum (FONAS) took place in Luanda, within the framework of World Water Day, which is celebrated on March 22.
This meeting discussed topics such as “The Financial Challenges of the Water and Sanitation Sector”, “Security and Climate Resilience in the Water Sector”, “Sanitation Problems in Angola” and “Sanitation in Coastal Cities”.
FONAS results from the fact that, in 2018, the National Directorate of Water (DNA) received financial support from UNICEF to contract international technical assistance for the study of a body that was agreed to be called the National Forum of Water and Sanitation ( FONAS).
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