Millennium Villages Blog

Cell Tower in Pampaida, Nigeria

Large-scale infrastructure is often not included in the intervention portfolio for community-based development projects. The cost is too high, local technical capacity is not available, coordination at the national level is lacking and the time-frame for implementation is not feasible. The Millennium Villages Project is tackling all of these challenges this week in Nairobi. Nineteen local experts from eight sites across eight countries through East and West Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) have joined technical and operations specialists from the Earth Institute, Millennium Promise and the MDG Centre to plot the strategy forward to bring each location closer to the MDG-based targets for infrastructure by 2011: water – reduce by half the number of people without access to an improved water source; energy – decrease the proportion of households without electricity or commercial energy; and transport – provide cluster communities with year-round access to all-weather roads.

New Road in Tiby, Mali

We have had presentations from each of the teams to discuss their progress to date and to share lessons learned with their colleagues. While progress has proceeded in fits and starts, it is both widespread and significant. Ernest Ecow Mensah, the Ghana infrastructure coordinator, reports that since 2007, the Bonsaaso, Ghana cluster staff have facilitated the construction and rehabilitation of 42 kilometers of all weather roads, including bridges and culverts, through coordination with and significant support from the Department of Feeder Roads and the community (to date, approximately 4.5 million dollars committed). These roads have shortened the time that community members have endured to bring their goods to market, reducing the travel time by more than two hours. In addition, with these improved roads, the time required to reach the referral hospital for medical emergencies has been reduced from three hours to one. With this reduced travel time, and the delivery of a cluster ambulance, medical emergencies are much more effectively managed and treated.

Grid Extension to Primary School in Ikaram, Nigeria

Likewise, Didace Kayiranga, science coordinator in Mayange, Rwanda, shared the technical designs of an electrical grid extension that will reach more than 1500 households. In previous discussions with the public utility ELECTROGAZ of the Ministry of Infrastructure, the staff have discussed a government contribution of 50% of the cost. While no formal agreement is yet in place, the team expects that work could begin in the next few months. Additionally, Robert Ayesiga, infrastructure coordinator from Ruhiira, Uganda, shared his experiences that helped to accelerate the process for the installation of a water pumping system and the construction of schools and clinics. He suggested to our colleagues, that once a contractor has been certified by the project through a competitive process, they need not tender to win additional contracts. The company only need provide a financial estimate of completing the work at hand, thus speeding up the time from project design to implementation.

Piped Water Project in Potou, Senegal

Taking advantage of the lessons learned and experience of the past 3 years, the teams have taken the opportunity to revise their intervention strategies to accelerate implementation and the achievement of the MDG-based targets. The effort and accomplishments of the sector coordinators have been remarkable, and I have been impressed with the dedication, candor and attitude of the hard-working staff who are working in the Millennium Villages week in and week out to bring significant improvements in infrastructure, whether improved roads, piped water-networks, mobile telephony, or electrical grid extension. With their continued efforts and the support of the management and technical teams in Nairobi, Bamako and New York, I expect these initial gains to continue, as more and more hardware, services and capital investments reach the Millennium Villages.

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