The African Development Bank has formally approved $9.82 million to improve clean drinking water supply and sanitation services in Eritrea.

The project will be delivered together with the government of Eritrea and UNICEF. According to the bank, it will cut the distance Eritrean households walk to reach drinking water by a factor of ten, to roughly 500 metres.

Mtchera Johannes Chirwa, the bank's director for water and sanitation, said the work will also upgrade sanitation facilities in health centres and schools.

The programme covers 21 new rural water points and the rehabilitation of 38 that have stopped working, alongside sanitation upgrades at 10 health centres and 12 schools.

Of the 21 dams planned in Eritrea, 18 have been completed, the bank reported earlier this year.