[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1134, 499], "category": "Text", "text": "Many district towns in PNG have limited or no access to potable, sustainable water supply and sanitation services. Schools, health care facilities, government offices, business houses and the local communities rely mostly on the use of water tanks (rain catchment) and rivers for their water supply. However, the amount of available water is reduced during the dry season. The inconsistent and insufficient supply of potable water to meet the demand in many district and provincial towns in PNG is a major challenge for the only state-owned water and sanitation service provider in the country, Water PNG (WPNG). This is attributed mainly to poor planning, lack of adequate investment in infrastructure and rapid population growth in the urban towns. Papua New Guinea is extremely sensitive to climate change, ranked 167th on 185 countries by the Global Adaptation Index. The rapidly changing climate patterns led to flooding notably in low lying inland and coastal areas, the alteration to existing water resources and an increased propagation of water borne diseases³. The frequent natural disasters are adding major \"water insecurity\" challenges whether because of drought periods or floods, that are both destructive and sources of pollution. Further, the overcrowding of peri-urban settlements (\"slums\") due to rural to urban migration, with poor water facilities, unsanitary storage and no sanitation leads to unhygienic conditions and the spread of diseases."}, {"bbox": [96, 508, 1134, 723], "category": "Text", "text": "Water PNG is currently only operating in 14 Provincial Capitais (out of a total 22) and 8 District Towns (out of a total of 67). With a mandate to ensure access to water and sanitation in all 89 urban areas of PNG, Water PNG has embarked on planning this achievement by 2030 and prioritised 16 towns for the installation of water supply systems based on population, accessibility and their relative importance to the district and province. The World Bank Group had committed to support Water PNG for 8 to 9 district towns with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) supporting a further three. Of the towns selected for support by the WBG, the construction phase of 5 towns will not be funded by the WBG. Technical and feasibility studies for these 5 towns have been completed under the current WBG project."}, {"bbox": [96, 734, 1134, 868], "category": "Text", "text": "Common challenges that are faced in PNG are linked to land issues/disputes: local landowners may prevent work to go ahead altogether for various reasons regardless of the size of the project or its positive impact on a community; accessibility is another hurdle due to the poor conditions of the road network and the remoteness of some of the towns. The tendering process and identifying a suitable contractor may prove difficult as well since the number of contractors is limited and international companies cannot easily access the market."}, {"bbox": [96, 879, 1134, 1120], "category": "Text", "text": "Lack of easy access to water and sanitation has an enhanced negative consequence for women and girls. Going to fetch water outside the boundaries of the house exposes women and girls to the risks of being attacked, sexually harassed or worse. Access to clean water is of paramount importance in delivery rooms, in order to reduce child and mother morbidity/mortality at birth. The absence of access to clean water, safe and dedicated sanitation facilities in schools is a well-known trigger for adolescent female students to leave school and very often never return. This is a cause of distorted drop-out rates in PNG when the data is disaggregated by sex. Moreover, the prevention of future Covid-19 outbreaks is challenging because thousands of people cannot access clean water for hand washing, environmental cleaning and personal hygiene. This action will contribute to improving awareness about and the prevention of the spread of Covid-19."}, {"bbox": [96, 1130, 1134, 1291], "category": "Text", "text": "The issue of return on investment for WPNG, which is taking decisions based on commercial considerations, is another factor that prevents the full access to water of all the towns, since economies of scale cannot be realised in small remote townships. These considerations are also the reason why sanitation coverage is poor: whilst the provision of water leads to tariffs (although in some case WPNG has difficulties in obtaining payment), sanitation does not follow the same commercial path and WPNG is reluctant to engage in off-grid sanitation for the time being."}, {"bbox": [96, 1318, 1073, 1372], "category": "Text", "text": "Identification of main stakeholders and corresponding institutional and/or organisational issues (mandates, potential roles, and capacities) to be covered by the action:"}, {"bbox": [96, 1383, 1134, 1437], "category": "Text", "text": "**Government:** Key governmental stakeholders are the Department of National Planning & Monitoring (DNPM), WASH PMU (DNPM, Water PNG Ltd and Department of Treasury."}, {"bbox": [96, 1448, 1134, 1530], "category": "Text", "text": "**Financial Institutions:** The European Investment Bank (EIB) will be investing in this sector in the country for the first time. This will be the second EU/EIB blending action for the country (one other is currently under development). Other IFIs also engaged in this sector are the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1620, 741, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ https://www.adaptation-undp.org/explore/asia-and-pacific/papua-new-guinea"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1144, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 16"}]