DAR ES SALAAM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has approved 350 million U.S. dollars credit to Tanzania for connecting water to more than 3 million people in rural areas, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

The credit will also benefit another 4 million people by accessing improved sanitation through a program called Rural Water and Sanitation Program-For-Results, said the statement.

The statement said the new financing aims to increase access to rural water supply and sanitation services in 17 administrative regions and support the government in building strong institutions to sustain access to rural water supply.

"The quality and strength of Tanzania's human capital is critical, especially as it aspires to become a middle-income country," said Bella Bird, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Malawi, Burundi and Somalia.

"There is a strong relationship between water and sanitation access and improved child health outcomes, which is critical for productivity and learning, particularly for girls whose school completion rates are lagging," she added.

A key issue for Tanzania is the chronic under nutrition which affect one in three children, about 2.7 million children, and is linked to poor sanitation, said the statement.

It added that only 11 percent of rural Tanzanians have access to an improved toilet, only 50 percent of public schools in rural areas have the required number of toilets, and only 43 percent with functional hand washing stations.

"Through this program, up to 1,250 communities and 1,500 schools will benefit from improved sanitation facilities, which directly supports the government's national sanitation campaign," said the statement.

"Under this new World Bank program, activities will be strategically designed to enhance the capacity of the national, regional, and local governments to monitor, ensure quality and improve and sustain water service delivery," said Kristoffer Welsien, World Bank Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist and co-task team leader for the program.

"The program will also strengthen environmental management supervision and operationalize existing policies and procedures," added Welsien.

The Tanzanian government's second Water Sector Development Program (2016-2019) is intended to strengthen sector institutions for integrated water resource management and improve access to water supply and sanitation services across the east African nation.