The Cross River State Government has disclosed plans to tackle the persistent water crisis across local government areas through a structured financing and implementation framework aimed at ensuring sustainable access to clean water.
The new financing strategy would strengthen service delivery, improve sanitation outcomes and enhance public health across the state.
The disclosure was made during a stakeholders’ engagement held in Yala Local Government Area, where a draft five-year Water, Sanitation and Hygiene strategic plan was presented for deliberation and validation.
The State Programme Coordinator of the Water Systems for Health Programme, Ferdinand Anok, said the strategic document would serve as a blueprint to guide investments in water supply, sanitation and hygiene services in the state.
According to him, the plan outlines the needs of the benefiting LGAs, the cost implications over a five-year period, and a comprehensive resource mobilisation strategy to bridge funding gaps.
Anok explained that the funding model would combine public financing, user contributions, donor support and concessional financing options to ensure sustainability.
He said, “The idea is to develop an implementable medium-term plan that guarantees annual government funding while leveraging development partners, community contributions and other financing sources. The plan clearly identifies the needs and the financial requirements to meet those needs.”
He noted that Yala is the pilot LGA for the systems-strengthening intervention, adding that the state government had demonstrated commitment with the release of N95m to support implementation.
The programme is supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom and implemented in partnership with the Cross River State Ministry of Water Resources and Self-Help Africa.
Anok expressed optimism that lessons from the pilot phase would enable the government to scale up the intervention to other LGAs and ultimately achieve universal access to water services in line with Sustainable Development Goal 6.
Also speaking, the WASH Coordinator for Yala LGA, Williams Agbo, described the workshop as impactful and urged residents to take ownership of water and sanitation projects in their communities.
He emphasised that sustainability would depend largely on community participation and local resource mobilisation rather than exclusive reliance on government and donor agencies.
“Community members must own these projects and contribute to sustaining them. We should not depend entirely on government and donors,” he said.
