Tuesday, April 01, 2008 USAid helps in Oro sanitation
MAYOR Constantino G. Jaraula on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an American company supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) for the implementation of a sanitation project in Cagayan de Oro City.
The MOU was formally sealed with Jaraula signing on behalf of the City Government and Lisa Kircher Lumbao representing the Aecom Internal Development, an American company implementing a cooperative agreement funded by USAid for the Philippine Sanitation Alliance project.
The Philippine Sanitation Alliance is in partnership with private sector companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local government units (LGUs) that will provide more than 900,000 Filipinos with access to sanitation services aimed at reducing public health risks and promote increased productivity.
The Philippine Sanitation Alliance will also leverage funding and resources from the private sector and participating cities to develop sanitation facilities for residential housing developments, hotels, hospitals, schools, public markets and slaughterhouses using a participatory, sustainable approach.
Under the MOU, the two parties have agreed to contemplate activities including technical assistance, development and construction of treatment facilities, preparation and delivery of information campaigns, and conduct of training to support the development and long-term sustainable operation of sanitation systems.
For its part, Aecom will use the resources from USAid to provide technical assistance to the city. The USAid funding will also provide resources for holding workshops on action planning, technology and finance options; data collection; site visits; and the design and packaging of pilot projects.
The City Government, in turn, will provide assistance in the form of construction of treatment facilities and in kind contributions such as executive and staff support to develop the identified projects. (Press release)
