Rio Tinto: Access to drinking water in Fort Dauphin: signing of a partnership protocol between Rio Tinto QMM and the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Rio Tinto QMM and the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene have signed a partnership protocol to improve access to drinking water for rural communities in Fort Dauphin. This program is part of QMM’s programme of contributions to the Emerging South Plan (Plan Emergence Sud), resulting from the historic symposium of June 2021. At the heart of the priorities identified with the various regional stakeholders is access to water, which will be supported by QMM, through the Ministry, by means of a technical and financial assistance amounting to US$450 000 over a period of 12 months. The first milestones of the programme are expected to be delivered before the end of December 2021.

In line with its social commitments, QMM continues to work with local communities to increase from 45% to 85% the number of houses benefiting from access to drinking water in the rural communes of Ampasy Nahampoana, Mandromondromotra and Tolagnaro for the fokontany of Andrakaraka. In addition to this objective, the programme will increase the current drinking water production and distribution capacity for the city of Fort Dauphin from 4500 m3/day to 6000 m3/day. Finally, it is also planned to implement and enforce an effective infrastructure governance system in order to ensure lasting improvements.

Through this protocol, the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and QMM wish to join efforts to improve access to drinking water for the rural community of Mandena and Fort Dauphin.

As drinking water is still a “luxury product” for a large part of the Malagasy population, especially in the south, solutions must be put in place. According to UNICEF data, only 36% of Madagascar’s rural population has access to improved water sources. Only 10% of the population use basic sanitation facilities. These statistics clearly demonstrate the hardships endured by the Malagasy population and underline the importance of this partnership initiative. In addition to today’s commitment, QMM’s contributions to the Emerging South Plan (Plan Emergence Sud) include support to rehabilitation of roads, rural electrification, protection of the environment and support to the health sector through the fight against Kéré.