Since Sri Lanka successfully ended the 30 year long civil war, it has accelerated its social and economic development and has achieved the state of a middle income country. The government’s vision is for every Sri Lankan family to enjoy decent and healthy living conditions by 2020. Some of the key challenges it faces in achieving this are persistent inequalities and pockets of poverty in lagging r
egions, plight of vulnerable groups including displaced people and plantation workers, persistent malnutrition across all segments of the population, and emergence of a new form of Chronic Kidney Disease of uncertain etiology (CKDu) with public health implications for the country. The country has high national coverage for access to improved water supply and sanitation and has achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) set for the sector. This is a significant achievement which is not matched by any other country in the region. However, these figures mask considerable disparities across the country and the need for appropriate solutions in underserved areas, including remote rural areas, the plantation sector, and pockets in the north and the east of the country. The proposed project will support development in the lagging regions and the estates sector where access to water supply and sanitation is lower and poverty level is higher compared to the national average. The development objectives of the project will be to increase access to piped water services and improved sanitation, and to strengthen rural service delivery arrangements, in selected Districts.
