In response to a request for assistance made by the Government of Republic of Namibia in 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea have donated USD 200,000 to improve water infrastructures for better access to water.

Namibia is suffering from persistent drought due to poor rainfall received over the past three years. As a result, this has adversely affected the food security status of subsistence farmers by reducing their access to food and potential income from sale of agricultural products.

The assistance will be implemented by the Directorate of Disaster Risk Management of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Speaking at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FAO and the Government of the Republic of Korea, the FAO Representative Dr. Babagana Ahmadu said that the money will be used to improve water access in the most affected communities of Erongo, Kunene and Omusati Region to rehabilitate boreholes and traditional wells and extension of water pipelines.

The FAO conducted an assessment to ascertain the impact of El Niño in Erongo, Kunene and Omusati Regions. The assessment revealed that water supply in Erongo region has the lowest number of households (27.5%) with access to adequate water supply for livestock in comparison to Kunene (48.3%) and Omusati (80.1%). Based on the outcomes of the assessment, communities in Kunene and Omusati Regions have prioritized the rehabilitation of boreholes and construction of earth dams/canals and the extension of water pipelines to strengthen water supply network and system.

At the same occasion, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Mr. Dongchan Kim, pledged to continue mobilizing resources to help Namibia towards sustainable growth and stronger ecosystem.

The Director of the Disaster Risk Management, Mr. Japhet Itenge, who was facilitating the event, pointed out that the response to the drought, the Korean Government found it necessary to make such a generous contribution to the water sector.  FAO has already developed some assessment tools which pointed out that Erongo, Kunene and Omusati regions needed more attention, and these are the areas which have already been prioritized should the assistance comes forth.

Audio interview - http://www.fao.org/news/audio-video/detail-audio/en/?uid=12063  

Photos taken during the event - please click here

Video clip broadcast on National TV news - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U238BxBFiC0