The World Bank has approved USD30 million from the International Development Association (IDA) to help complete the rehabilitation and expansion of the existing Asafo Sewerage Network and provide access to 5,000 households in low-income communities to improve sanitation. It is also for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation for Water Project (GAMA-SWP). A press statement by Mr Robert Taliercio, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, copied the Ghana News Agency, said it was also aimed at improving financial sustainability of Ghana Water Limited (GWL). Second of its kind, the money would cover a financial shortfall resulting from increased costs due to inflation and allow the Government of Ghana (GoG) to complete planned water and sanitation works. The World Bank supports the GoG and Ghana's water utility, GWL in expanding the water supply and sanitation networks for urban centres and improving the water utility's operational efficiency, among others by reducing losses fro m distribution of water that generates no revenue (45 percent in 2023). The GAMA SWP Project supports the Government's efforts to increase access to basic sanitation services and reduce open defecation in Ghana. The Project's activities are being implemented with the participation of local governments and project beneficiaries, drawing on local capacity for implementation wherever possible. The Project, he said, delivered specific benefits for women by reducing their water collection burden and relieving them from water provision for family members in the event of disease occurrence. 'The additional financing will also generate climate benefits,' said Harold Esseku, Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist and Task Team Leader of the Project. 'The completion of the gravity-operated network and sewage treatment plant in Asafo-Kumasi is expected to reduce Green House Gas emissions. It will reduce Carbon dioxide emissions by making the use of aging vacuum trucks obsolete. The Project also embraces a circular economy approach by converting waste to briquettes and compost, aiming to lower the charcoal and biofuel use of local communities and providing soil conditioner for urban agriculture.' The release said it was expected that GAMA SWP would provide 563,000 with access to improved sanitation services and 700,000 people with access to improved water supply services by the end of the Project. IDA, established in 1960, helps the world's poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest credits for projects and programmes that boost economic growth, reduce poverty and improve poor people's lives. It is one of the largest sources of assistance for the World's 74 poorest countries which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.3 billion people who live in IDA counties. Since 1960, IDA has provided USD458 billion to 114 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about USD29 billion over the last three years (FY19-FY21) with about 70 percent going to Africa. Source : Ghana New s Agency