IN support of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC)’s response to emergencies, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has donated over 100 water tanks, 10,000 collapsible water containers, and two million water purification tablets.

The supplies were handed over by the UNICEF Representative to Guyana and Suriname Nicholas Prone on Monday.

According to a joint press release, the supplies were procured as part of UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme in Guyana, and will also complement support given to local authorities to increase the accessibility and availability of safe water in areas where people are in need.

“Against the backdrop of challenges such as climate change, which has resulted in more intense and increasingly frequent floods and droughts, UNICEF is committed to strengthening our partnership with the CDC to ensure that no child is left behind,” Prone was quoted as saying.

He noted that the supplies will support the response to disasters such as flooding, and help to address other humanitarian needs of Guyanese as well as migrants.

“We know that access to safe drinking water and related sanitation and hygiene services has a direct positive impact on health, nutrition, learning abilities, and several other key developmental factors, which can lead to better standards of living and ultimately benefit investment, economic growth and sustainable development,” the UNICEF Representative added.

On behalf of the Government and people of Guyana, CDC Director-General Colonel Nazrul Hussain extended gratitude to UNICEF for the timely donation.

Additionally, he thanked the local office for partnering with the CDC to bring about awareness, and for contributing tangibly to the efforts being made to deliver clean water.

The supplies were procured by UNICEF, with support from the US Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (USBPRM), at the request of the CDC as part of the longstanding cooperation between the two agencies.

Each water tank has the capacity to hold 450 gallons of water, while the collapsible water containers are UV-resistant, and each one has the capacity to hold 10 litres of water.

According to the release, they are suitable for the transport and storage of potable water, especially for domestic and household use in emergency situations.
Furthermore, the two million water purification tablets can treat 10 million litres of water.

UNICEF’s WASH programme aims to strengthen the capacities of structures and partners at the national and decentralised levels to improve the development and implementation of child-sensitive climate and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes, and to provide equitable and sustainable access to low-carbon and climate-resilient WASH services.

As part of the component to strengthen partners’ capacities for preparedness and humanitarian response, in June this year, 20 local WASH personnel were trained to address WASH needs in emergencies.