Colombia
Water and sanitation services in areas of displacement and indigenous communities
Investment Plan “Todos por el Pacífico” (All for the Pacific) – Chocó, Antioquia, Cauca, Nariño
Colombia
Throughout 2021 four programmes have been implemented in Colombia, although one of them (COL-036-B) is almost complete and will end in January 2022. This programme, called Expansion of El Bosque Water Treatment Plant and Supply of Neighbourhoods in the Southwest of Cartagena de Indias, has been a large-scale initiative of the Fund. The project, implemented in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office of Cartagena, has ensured the provision of water services to more than 160,000 inhabitants of the south-western outskirts of the city, an area where many people affected by the conflict in Colombia have settled. With more than 13 million euros in funding (7.3 million euros donated by the Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation), the project has ended with major achievements such as providing access to drinking water and sanitation in the Villahermosa neighbourhood where 1,366 connections have been installed. Other activities have been the construction of a module of El Bosque Drinking Water Treatment Plant; the installation of 2,100 linear metres of drinking water pipelines and the execution of complementary works, such as the construction of storage tanks for raw water and drinking water, pumping stations, electrical substations and the sludge treatment plant.
It is important to note that the Programme has carried out a very special project in the Villahermosa neighbourhood (6,400 inhabitants and one of the most vulnerable in Cartagena). As well as drinking water and sanitation services, the project has gone much further, becoming a comprehensive initiative to improve living conditions in the neighbourhood. It has thus promoted the construction of children’s playgrounds and toilets for schools, supported community development and provided awareness raising on the rational use of resources, environmental protection and health. In addition, 17 community productive initiatives were strengthened in the neighbourhoods of Villahermosa, Policarpa and Pasacaballos.
The following three programmes remain active in 2021.
Active Programmes 2021
Associate Program
COUNTRY SHEET
MAP OF INTERVENTIONS
RELATED INFORMATION
Related News
Drinking water, a treasure for millions of Colombians: “It dignifies living conditions”
En su casa de Villa Hermosa, un barrio a las afueras de Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, a Yicet todavía le cuesta creer que del grifo de la cocina sale agua potable. Se ha pasado la vida sin este servicio y hasta hace unos meses ni siquiera tenía un espacio en condiciones para asearse.
“No tenía un baño. Había un cuadradito y el inodoro. Para bañarme ya tocaba ver que no estuviera el vecino de un lado y que no estuviera el del otro para poder hacerlo. O bien me bañaba en horas de la mañana, porque como era al descubierto, para que no me viera nadie. Ha sido un cambio fenomenal” cuenta Yicet que, aunque trata de no desaprovechar ni una gota de agua, confiesa que en la ducha se despista.
Infographics of country programmes
