Phnom Penh, Sep 2 (IANS): The Asian Development Bank (ADB), on Monday, approved $93.6 million in loans and grants to improve and expand climate-resilient and inclusive rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in Cambodia.

The Rural Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Improvement sector development programme is expected to benefit approximately 88,000 households in 400 villages in 50 communes across nine provinces in the Southeast Asian country.

The programme will support government efforts to provide universal access to safely managed water supply services and basic hygiene facilities in rural areas and improve access to safely managed sanitation facilities while also addressing affordability, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The programme supports 'WASH for all' by prioritising rural populations in remote areas," said ADB Country Director for Cambodia Jyotsana Varma.

"It proposes reforms to strengthen governance in the management of community-managed WASH facilities and scale up government planning for sustainability and climate resilience," she added.

The programme, including a grant of $3 million and technical assistance of 600,000 dollars, will be carried out in Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Speu, Kampot, Kratie, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin, Preah Vihear, and Stung Treng provinces, according to the news release.

In 2022, access to the safely managed water supply was at 29 per cent for the country and even lower at 20 per cent in rural areas while access to safely managed sanitation was 37 per cent nationally and 34 per cent in rural areas, the news release said.

Open defecation was practised by about two million rural residents, which exposes land and water resources to contamination and contributes to water-borne infections, it added.

According to the news release, since 2005, more than one million people, particularly the residents of the provinces along the Tonle Sap Lake, have already benefited from ADB-supported WASH services.