The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) signed a framework cooperation agreement on Wednesday, which will contribute to improve the access to drinking water in terms of quantity, continuity and quality in the vulnerable communities of the Latin American country.
This agreement promotes the fulfillment of the cooperation program between the national Executive and Unicef 2015-2019, prioritizing and identifying the areas of water, hygiene and sanitation with greater vulnerability in Venezuela.
On behalf of the Venezuelan State, the People’s Power Minister for Water Care, Evelyn Vásquez, specified that the agreement will allow progress in all sectoral plans and focused on the most vulnerable sectors of the country, in terms of improving the service of drinking water and sanitation.
“Together, we have selected a number of sectors to refine the contingency plan focused on the consolidation of alternative sources to improve the supply to our communities, especially those of complex access”, he added.
Minister Vasquez thanked the United Nations Fund for Children and ratified the Venezuelan Government’s willingness to maintain cooperation plans with the UN agency, within the framework of the 2030 Agenda.
Based on the agreement signed, Unicef will contribute with the national and State authorities to strengthen the distribution network of drinking water through different alternative sources, assistance actions and cooperation in emergency situations, explained the representative in the country of the United Nations agency, David Hervé Ludovic.
“The actions of this agreement will benefit millions of people”, stressed the UNICEF delegate in Venezuela.
In this regard, he said that the rehabilitation of 60 systems for the middle sectors will benefit around 2 million 800 thousand people, while the support for the repair and improvement of the prioritized sanitation systems will benefit 3 million 480 thousand people.
The representative of Unicef in Venezuela considers that the signing of this agreement constitutes the beginning of a long and productive joint working relationship, for the benefit of Venezuelan children.
“They have in Unicef an ally and a partner with whom they can count on to continue advancing in favor of Venezuelan children and, therefore, of the present and the future of the country”, he added.