Phnom Penh Tuesday, 22 March 2011
“Many people in urban slums are forced to rely on unsafe water sources.”
While Cambodians are increasingly enjoying clean water, many who live in the poorer areas of the country remain at risk to diseases caused from dirty water, officials said Tuesday as they marked World Water Day.
Around 85 percent of Cambodians have access to safe drinking water, with the majority in urban areas, Douglas Broderick, the UN resident coordinator, said in an address at a Phnom Penh primary school.
But in urban slums, access to state water is limited, forcing many to pay three to five times the cost, he said. As a result, “many people in urban slums are forced to rely on unsafe water sources.”
Phnom Penh, which has earned high marks for creating access to water, has around 5,000 families in slum areas with free access to safe water under a World Bank program, said Man Chhoeun, deputy commissioner for development at the Council of Ministers.
“The water connection to each house in general costs $100,” he said. “The government policy subsidizes a connection to safe water service to the poor people to lower the price by 50 percent.”
Sok Sovannarith, secretary of state for the Ministry of Industry, said the government is aiming to have 80 percent of the population across the country, including 50 percent of the rural areas, with access to state supplied water. Currently, only about 60 percent of the population has access to such a water supply, he said.
2 comments:
We are 90% poor cambodian people that earn less than $2 per day would like to joint Mr. Sam Rainsy revolution at Cambodia. We sick of the same regime lead by one man for over 25 years.
We don't scare of dying anymore because if Hun Sen kill us. UN, NATO force, America, Bristish, France will help innocent people like us.
Mr. Sam Rainsy! Please lead us to great revolution in history of Cambodia. Let's creat history! Let's our children proud in the this generation and the next! No more suffering for 90% cambodian people!
We support Mr. Sam Rainsy revolution. we are truely support khmer people benefit, not vietnam benefit!
Long live Mr. Sam Rainsy! Let's the greatest revolution begin at Cambodia!
of course, it is a challenge, if it were easy, everybody could've done that, too, you know! the difference here is cambodia never give up, ok!
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