RAMALLAH: The Head of the Water Authority, Mazen Ghoneim, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) signed today a $7 million agreement to address the devastated water situation in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The agreement will provide water tanks that offer a capacity of 5000 liters for informal shelters, which do not receive adequate attention, unlike the centers that are cared for by certain entities, such as UNRWA.
Fuel to operate water facilities and special packages of sanitary supplies will also be provided.
The Head of the Water Authority said another agreement worth $2 million will be signed with the United Nations Development Program. The agreement will cover some issues not included in today’s agreement.
The Water Authority has other agreements worth 25.5 million Euros for the central desalination plant. The funding for the agreements was pledged during the International Donors’ Conference.
According to a joint statement issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the
former Water Authority, the average citizen in the Gaza Strip can barely access between 3-15 liters of water per day under Israeli aggression. The minimum amount of water needed for survival for an average person is estimated at 15 liters per day. In 2022, the average person’s daily water consumption was estimated at 84.6 liters.
About 40% of the water networks were destroyed in the war-torn Gaza Strip; the main pumps failed due to the ongoing shelling or lack of fuel.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
