Mbabane – Matthew Pickard, Regional Leader for World Vision Southern Africa, met with Ike B. Okorie, Country Representative for the World Bank, in Mbabane to further cement their partnership. The meeting, attended by members of the World Bank’s technical team, focused on improving collaboration between the two organisations.
Pickard, accompanied by World Vision Eswatini’s National Director Amos Zaindi and Programme Development Specialist Mlamuli Busika, expressed appreciation for the ongoing partnership between World Vision and the World Bank, highlighting their joint efforts in Eswatini and across Southern Africa. The discussion included strategies to enhance rural water services, strengthen coordination between stakeholders, and avoid overlapping initiatives in order to better support the government’s development priorities.
The two parties agreed on the importance of sharing knowledge and resources to improve the efficiency and sustainability of service delivery, particularly in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), an area both organizations are deeply committed to.
“For World Vision, our core mandate is ensuring child wellbeing, and WASH is a key factor in achieving that, impacting education, health, and even child protection,” Pickard stated during the meeting.
Pickard also expressed confidence in Eswatini’s progress towards universal water service coverage, noting the government’s substantial investments in the sector. The World Bank’s commitment to ending extreme poverty aligns with its focus on improving WASH services, which is central to addressing both health and economic disparities. Pickard’s visit to Eswatini runs from December 3 to 7, 2025.
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