Niger has secured 55 billion CFA francs ($120 million) in financing from the World Bank for water, sanitation and anti-AIDS projects, Reuters quoted the government as saying on Friday. The deal could boost the efforts of new president Mahamadou Issoufou to develop the West African uranium-producing country, one of the poorest and most remote nations on the planet. Some 45 billion CFA of the World Bank funds will be used to improve water distribution and trash pickup in urban areas, while the rest will go to combatting the spread of HIV/AIDS. "These two projects are in line with Niger's priorities to accelerate development and reduce poverty," Planing Minister Amadou Boubacar Cisse said on national radio. The deal was signed on Thursday, according to the broadcast.
