Paved roads, bridges, irrigation systems and potable water and
sanitation services are among the infrastructure projects to be
carried out as part of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed this
week by IOM, Plan Ecuador (a government peace and development plan
for northern border regions), USAID and officials of the autonomous
government of the province of Carchi.

The new projects are part of the 2012 Annual Operating Plan of
the Integrated Municipal Development Programme (PIDEM by its
Spanish acronym) for Carchi province.

Since 2001, IOM, working with the local authorities through the
PIDEM and with USAID funding of USD 100 million, has completed more
than 440 similar infrastructure projects to directly improve the
living conditions of some 550,000 people in the northern border
region.

IOM, USAID and local officials last week inaugurated a new
potable water system in Tesalia, a community of 200 people in
Carchi's Montufar district. The work, carried out under IOM
supervision, included the construction of a water treatment plant,
a shed for storing materials, accessories and other tools, the
improvement of existing facilities, and the installation of 40
water meters in homes.

IOM is also planning to support Carchi's provincial education
authority in implementing an awareness raising programme in schools
on the benefits of hand-washing with soap and water.

Ecuador's northern border has been directly impacted by the
long-standing armed conflict in Colombia. According to the Refugee
Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, an estimated
135,000 Colombians in need of international protection have crossed
into Ecuador in the past decade. Lack of infrastructure and basic
services compounds the precarious social and nutritional situation
in the region.

Since 2005 and with funding from US Government through USAID and
the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and
Migration (PRM), IOM has carried out an emergency programme that
provides assistance to people seeking international protection
along the border. This has included the provision of food, shelter,
health services and education.

For more information, please contact:

Jaime Paredes

IOM Ecuador

Tel: + 593 2 226 6304

E-mail: "mailto:jparedes@iom.int">jparedes@iom.int