Australia continues to assist Cambodia in the clean water sector, with a new water development fund being established to enable water supply operators to access finance and technical assistance to improve and expand their services.

The project will contribute to Cambodia’s commitment of universal access to clean water by 2030, according to a May 18 social media post by the Australian embassy.

The post added that Australia and Cambodia have partnered for almost a decade to connect over one million rural Cambodians to clean, piped water.

It detailed how the Cambodia Australia Partnership for Resilient Economic Development (CAPRED) recently organised a study visit for key Cambodian government agencies, and the Cambodia Water Supply Association to attend a clean water conference to learn more about Australia’s water management. The knowledge they acquired will support the environmental and economic resilience of the Mekong subregion.

The annual event, this year called “Ozwater23”, was held from May 10-12 in Sydney, Australia.

Andreas Zurbrugg, deputy head of mission at the Australia embassy, described in April how Australia supports the WaterAid project through Australian NGOs. Through its assistance, WaterAid has support access to clean water for 400,000 people – and toilet facilities to a further 800,000 – in five provinces since 2014.

The NGOs also empowered thousands of health workers at 31 clinics in four provinces to provide better health services to the public.

Australian’s clean water assistance aligns with the government’s clean water strategy. The government has set the goal of providing access to clean water to 100 per cent of urban populations by 2025, and universal access by 2030.