NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved financing for two projects that seek to increase access to drinking water and sanitation in selected provinces and to enhance community livelihoods in forested landscapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The country has vast natural resources, including the world’s second largest tropical forest area, and more than half of all freshwater resources in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, its poverty rate is one of the highest in the world, and the country continues to grapple with major infrastructure gaps, weak governance, and disparities in poverty rates across provinces, as well as between urban and rural areas. The two projects will seek to enhance access to basic services and improve livelihoods in some of the most underserved areas of the country.