ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Dec. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — In a joint effort to build clean water facilities for schools in the Ethiopian capital, XCMG (SHE:000425) together with 17 charitable suppliers, have donated and constructed 20 water purification systems for 20 public schools in Addis Ababa, which have now been put into operation.
Between 2019 and 2021, with the support of XCMG and partner suppliers, a total of 23 ultrafiltration systems, 157 drinking stations and 152 handwashing stations have been successfully installed in Addis Ababa. The project will benefit more than 23,000 school children in the capital.
“Having access to clean drinking water and providing water for all is an integral part of the world that we want to live in. In the future, XCMG will continue to work with our partners to empower United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) which seeks to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation for all and benefit more people in need,” said Wang Min, Chairman of XCMG.
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country on the African continent and has the second largest population. Despite the rapid growth of its economy over the past decade, water scarcity and infectious diseases are the main causes of high infant and child mortality. In 2019, more than 580 million children were lacking basic drinking water in schools, as only 33 percent of the schools in Addis Ababa have reliable water supply throughout the school week.
To better solve clean drinking water problems in Ethiopia, XCMG and China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) launched the water cellar project for rural Ethiopian families as early as 2016 and have built 121 water cellars in two arid regions that collect and store rainwater during the rainy season and provide to the villagers in the dry season after filtering. In 2019, XCMG launched the school water purification project with the goal of providing clean water for drinking and sanitation in schools.
Zelalem Msoto, head of Addis Ababa Education Bureau, spoke highly of the water purification project saying that it not only benefits students and teachers practically, but is also an independent and sustainable approach. “The project was completed on schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I’m deeply touched and appreciated by the fact that the project completed inspections and supervision of the schools one by one,” said Msoto.
