Uganda: Improving hygiene and sanitation in Masaka

A team of volunteers from the United States has spent four months constructing latrines, building protected springs and washing-stations as well as providing training in hygiene and sanitation in Masaka District. The Union of Community Development Volunteers (UCDV) from Utah State has constructed 60 protected springs, 16 school latrines, 10 washing stations, and has also donated water tanks to 15 schools.

UCDV has also built 25 pit latrines for families in Katoogo Village in Buwunga Sub-county and given out 500 pit latrine slabs to other families. “We gave out the slabs after making sure we had trained several of them to build pit latrines, and we expect them to share the skills with the others,” said Mr Eddy Mutebi, Director of UCDV.

Only 23 per cent of the homesteads in Katoogo Village had pit latrines before the volunteers’ intervention. About 75 local volunteers have been trained in general hygiene and sanitation practices and they are expected to teach other community members about the importance of hand washing, using and keeping latrines clean, as well as drinking clean water.

Mr Mutebi went on to reveal that the different schools and villages where the team had donated water tanks or built protected water springs were recommended by the Masaka District local administration and the department of health. The festivities for officially handing over the items to the local communities took place at St Bruno Primary School, Ssaza on November 19.

Masaka District community officer, Lilian Musisi said the intervention would go a long way to reduce diarrhoeal diseases in the district. She said only 57 per cent of the people in Masaka District have access to safe, clean water, and that only 42 per cent wash hands with soap.

The total cost of the four month intervention was about Shs580m which was collected by members of the Church. Masaka Municipality MP John Baptist Kawanga received the items on behalf of the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi who had been invited as the Chief Guest but could not be present due to other state duties.

Kawanga appealed to the recipient communities to own the donated items and to protect them from vandalism. Elder Lincoln F. Barlow and his wife Marilyn Barlow, Humanitarian Services county director and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter – day Saints attended the function on behalf of the donors.

Source: Michael J. Sali, Daily Monitor, 25 November 2010

AMCOW AfricaSan Awards 2010 Winners: Feliciano dos Santos, Takiso Achame and David Kuria

A musician and activist whose songs about using latrines and washing hands are positively influencing the hygiene practices of communities in Mozambique; a widow who has risen through her caste status to lead a campaign against open defecation in her village in Ethiopia; and a toilet entrepreneur whose innovative partnership with local authorities is changing the way public toilets in Kenyan towns are managed, are the top winners of this year’s AMCOW AfricaSan Awards.

Feliciano dos Santos. Photo: © Steven Fisch Photography / The Independent

Musician Feliciano dos Santos was announced winner of the Grassroots Champion Award for dedicating his life and his music to campaigning for better public health through clean water and adequate sanitation. Santos and his Massukos Band have been using music to inspire thousands of villagers in rural Mozambique to curb the spread of disease by adopting good hygiene practices, such as washing hands, boiling drinking water and building latrines.

Takiso Achame, a widowed member of a traditionally discriminated community in the remote village of Shashera in Southern Ethiopia, was picked for the Distinguished Woman Leader in Sanitation for her exemplary local leadership over a communal cause. Even though her community often attracts the least attention from health promoters and local leaders in terms of accessing water supply, sanitation and hygiene services including awareness, Achame has become the self-appointed champion to eliminate open defecation in her village.

David Kuria won the Public Service Award for implementing a partnership model that is delivering safe, clean and affordable sanitation to the urban poor in Kenya. His company, Ecotact, is pioneering a private-public partnership approach with local authorities, and water and sewerage utilities to build public toilet malls in urban centres and informal settlements. By demonstrating the viability of sanitation as a business, David has been able to attract more than US$1.2 Million for the construction of 40 public toilet facilities in 12 municipalities in Kenya.

The top winners were announced by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) Task Force on Sanitation during the Africa Water Week being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (November 22-26, 2010).

Ghana / Benin: RUPFA supports water projects in 3 VR communities

Rural Urban Partnership for Africa (RUPFA), a Non-Governmental Organisation, is spending Ghana cedis (GH¢)12,000 for the laying of pipes for the provision of potable water in three communities near Aveyime-Battor in the Volta Region. The communities include Megbedrakofe, Abukofe and Evukofe, near Aveyime in the North-Tongu District of the Volta Region.

Mr. Richard Ashaley, Executive Director of RUPFA, said an amount of GH¢ 2,500 out of the GH¢12,000would be used for operational activities, whilst GH¢7,500 would be used for the project and GH¢2,000 for the administration expenses.

He said, the NGO is also planning to build a dam for the people of Mafi and classroom blocks and a dam to provide water for the people of Atseive, all in North-Tongu.

Mr. Ashaley said, RUPFA is currently operating in almost all the regions, Upper East region, Upper West regions and the Northern region. He said the NGO is also poised to assist the infrastructure development of Benin Republic through the Millennium Development Goal’s (MDG’s). According to him, RUPFA is putting up school buildings and other necessary infrastructure in Benin.

Mr. Ashaley disclosed this when he paid a working visit with his team to Ghana, last week with the hope of strengthening the NGO’s in the country and to negotiate development projects in Ghana. He said, some of the provincial capitals where development operations would take place are Dogbo Tota, Abomey, Savalou and Natitingou, Kandi towns and villages, all in Benin and its major activities would begin at Bohicon, Bori, Nadoli, Wenon and Gounorou, among other villages.

Mr. Ashaley said RUPFA’s first intention was to get potable water for these villages, and added that development projects in Ghana would also start very soon.

According to him a survey done by RUPFA showed that lack of environmental sanitation and good drinking water posed serious problems in some of the areas, so the construction of bore-holes and other sources of drinking water would be provided with the support of donor agencies.

Touching on education, Mr. Ashaley said RUPFA would construct school buildings and provide community libraries to enhance education, raise learning and education in general in some of the deprived towns and villages in Benin.

Source: Daniel Amoo, The Ghanaian Times, 23 November 2010

Nigeria: Canada, NGO partner to tackle diarrhoea

The Canadian Government said it would get communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) involved in tackling filthy environment and waste management to eradicate diarrhoea in Nigeria.

Speaking during a community-led sanitation and waste management advocacy in Abuja, a Counsellor at the Canadian High Commission, Mr David Ross, said his country would be part of the eradication process of diarrhoea in Nigeria. He said: “We want to contribute to improved environmental health by addressing behaviour change related to sanitation and waste management in poor and slum areas of Nigeria.”

Speaking earlier, the Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development, Dr Otive Igbuzor, said the project, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), under the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), would address problems of sanitation in Duruni community of the FCT.

He said: “We are committed to clinical implementation of this project which will run for a period of five months which starts from November 2010 so as to achieve its objectives; and the Nigerian government asserts that with better implementation of various policy frameworks and plans for water, sanitation, environment and slum upgrading, Nigeria will be on track to achieve the MDG 7.”

Source: Daniel Okpole, Nigerian Compass, 24 November 2010

Uganda: Koboko boreholes contaminated

Over 4,281 residents of Teremunga and Alimakodra villages in Koboko town council risk contracting water-borne diseases from contaminated water.

A water quality study carried out by Koboko town council with support from the German Development Organisation recently found that two of the 20 boreholes in the area contained high levels of faecal matter, far beyond acceptable limits for domestic use.

One of the boreholes is at Teremunga Primary School in Teremunga village and another at Koboko Pentecostal Church in Alimakodra village.

The district water officer, Eng. Anthony Dradria, said the nature of settlements and the simple latrines constructed in the two villages gives room for the faecal matter to contaminate the underground water due to the porous nature of the soil.

He called for urgent intervention to improve the sanitation around water points.

“There is also need to sensitise masses on the use of water treatment tablets and constructing VIP latrines and community Eco-san toilets,”

Joel Azabo, the health inspector, said a team had been dispatched to sensitise the affected communities on the need to boil and treat water before use.

The council, he added, would also distribute water treatment tablets to the communities.

Neima Tabu, a cook at St. Catherine Primary School in Teremunga village, said pupils drink over 10 jerrycans of water a day without boiling or purifying it. “We did not know the water was contaminated, she said.

Michael Andama, a teacher at Teremunga Primary School, said: “It is hard for us to treat water for the big number of pupils in the school. The Government should come to our rescue.” He blamed the technical personnel for drilling boreholes below the pit-latrine level.

Koboko town council has been gazetted by the Ministry of Water and Environment as a piped water supply authority area.

However, its safe water coverage stands at 28%, out of which 11% comes from piped water and the rest from other sources.

Source: Andrew Amvesi, New Vision /allAfrica.com, 21 November 2010

Ghana: Sanitation is dignity indeed!

Kwaku, a 21 year-old man, born and bred in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region, had lived all his life in one of the luxurious mining bungalows.

After obtaining a Diploma in Information Technology at the Koforidua Polytechnic, he decided he would stay with a relative in Accra to seek a job and probably greener pastures. Kwaku was lucky to have a cousin staying at Akweteman, a suburb of Accra, so his dream to come and stay in Accra really did materialize.

It was one room, probably a boy’s quarters to the main building, with about 10 different families living in the house. On the compound of the house was a cemented structure with four sides used as a bathroom, which all the 10 families used. Even those who were not tenants in the house sometimes came and bathed there. To his surprise, he realized that there was no toilet in the house, the reason being that the toilet was full and nobody was prepared to pay for it to be emptied, so the landlady broke down the place.

Very early in the morning, Kwaku would walk from Akweteman to the main Achimota Market where a public toilet was situated. He had to be in a queue for hours to empty his bowels. And this wasn’t for free, as a patron of the public toilet would have to buy toilet roll or newspaper to clean himself. When you get the chance to enter the toilet, only half of the problem is solved. Kwaku says, “There are faeces on some toilet seats and on the floor and one has to employ special acrobatics to empty your bowels.”

Kwaku’s situation makes real the celebration of World Toilet Day, a day set aside by the World Toilet Organization of the United Nations to highlight the need for all households in the world to have access to hygienic toilets and to critically consider various sanitation issues. This year’s celebration, which falls on Friday, 19 November 2010, is on the theme: “Sanitation is Dignity, Hygiene is Health.”

The celebration of World Toilet Day in Ghana was met with mixed feelings. The first time it was announced on a local radio station in Accra some presenters actually made fun of it. To some people it is an unnecessary day to celebrate. However, after hearing Kwaku’s story, the realization that a country should pay attention to toilet issues becomes real.

In Ghana about half of the population is estimated to be using shared toilets or do not have toilets in their homes. Shared toilets refer to a situation where there may be a house with about 10 different families, as in Kwaku’s case, who share the same toilet. There are still some households in Accra, who use the pan latrine, and there are households who do not have water and therefore are not able to flush their toilets.

Many questions are raised when it comes to the issues of sanitation. Some people have raised legitimate concerns like, “What are the processes involved in getting a good toilet in one’s home?” Some have said it is very expensive to get a good or proper toilet in one’s home. “Is it right, for instance, to call on government to help or subsidize the processes involved in owning a toilet?”

Major T. N.K. Awuah (Rtd), Director of Metro Sewage Services, said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly had given a one-year ultimatum to businesses and households in the Metropolis who did not have toilets to put in place toilet facilities at their premises or be prosecuted. “Therefore, households and businesses that do not have toilet facilities come October, 2011 will be prosecuted,” he said.

The African Development Bank under the Accra Sewage Improvement Project (ASIP) is targeting 4,200 households to support them with toilet facilities. Under ASIP, households would be made to apply for a financial facility to enable them to own a toilet in their homes and pay back in monthly instalments so that other people would also benefit from the money which is a revolving fund.

Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, last year went to Nima, a suburb of Accra, in the early hours of the morning, as they queued to empty their bowels and described the situation as “unacceptable”.

Source: Hannah Asomaning, Web Ghana /Ghana News Agency, 17 November 2010

South Africa: Chatty pupils ready for ‘Big Squat’ to help observe World Toilet Day 2010

Astra Primary School in Chatty are taking up the plight of those without toilets on Friday when they perform a “Big Squat” for one minute to experience what 2.6-billion people across the world do every day.

World Toilet Day, which falls on Friday, 19 November is intended to make people aware that an estimated 2.5-billion people around the world do not have proper ablution facilities. The day was started by the World Toilet Organisation. This year people are asked to squat for one minute to understand what life is like for people without a proper toilet.

Astra Primary school in Chatty has observed the day for the past two years to promote hygiene among its pupils. Grade 6 teacher Margaret Fillis started the hygiene campaign at her school after receiving an assignment during her studies at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. “I had to find a way to bring about change in schools,” Fillis said. She decided to find out how sanitation in schools could be improved. During her research she discovered the World Toilet Day initiative. Fillis realised it would be a good idea to change the hygiene system at her school.

Astra primary has since upgraded its toilets. Grade 6 pupil Taylor Marks, 11, said: “I feel proud about what the school has achieved.” Another Grade 6 pupil, Jarred Blaauw, 12, said: “I think the renovation has improved things. I do feel more hygienic.” Fillis said: “On World Toilet Day the Water Board will come to the school to educate the children about basic hygiene.” “Promoting health in schools goes hand in hand with sporting and academic achievement.”

Source: Lerenzo Francis, The Herald Online, 17 November 2010

Nigeria: WHO to certify guinea worm free by 2011 says Federal Government

Chief Consultant, Epidemiologist in the Federal Ministry of Health, Henry Akpan, disclosed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is to present Nigeria with the certificate of guinea worm disease eradication next year. He said this on Wednesday 10 November 2010 in Abuja while speaking on the status of guinea worm disease eradication in Nigeria. He stated that Nigeria had a lot to celebrate as Wednesday marked two years since the last case of guinea worm was reported in the country.

Nigeria used to have the largest number of cases globally; 653,620 cases in 5,879 villages as at 1988 but with concerted effort in the implementation of intervention measures, a 99.99 per cent case reduction was recorded at the end of 2006. Only 16 cases were reported in 10 villages of six states.

In 2008, the last 38 cases of guinea worm disease were reported in Nigeria in five villages in Enugu and Ebonyi states.

“Guinea worm disease cases have dropped steadily and the last case was reported in Nigeria on November 10, 2008. Today marks 24 consecutive months that there has been no confirmed report of guinea worm disease in Nigeria. The international community has acknowledged this achievement. We think the Nigerian populace is entitled to be made aware of this success story,” he said.

Akpan, however, cautioned that in order to secure certification by WHO, there has to be 36 consecutive months of zero guinea worm disease case reported in addition to meeting other criteria which include nationwide publicity and knowledge about guinea worm disease and the cash rewards, adequate safe water supply in the villages at risk of the disease and maintenance of nationwide certification standard guinea worm disease surveillance.

In his remarks, Chairman of National Committee on Certification, Olukayode Onyediran, said there was need to work with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and other water generating agencies to provide potable and safe water to sustain the gains made so far in guinea worm eradication.

Source: Kemi Yesufu, Daily Independent / allAfrica.com, 10 November 2010

Ghana: Amasaman water inaugurated

The Ga West Municipal Chief Executive, Ebenezer Nii Armah Tackie, has reiterated government’s commitment to partner the private sector to provide potable water for the people.

Such a move, he said, was the only way to tackle the water situation in most rural communities. Nii Tackie said this when he inaugurated a water project for the people of Amasaman. The project is a collaborative effort between Safe Water Network and Water Health International, both non-governmental organisations and the municipal assembly.

He said since the government could not solve the water situation alone, it was important to partner the private sector to ensure good corporate standards, adding “we are prepared to involve all institutions towards achieving laudable partnerships to solve the water problem”.

He stated that even though water is a priceless commodity, it had direct effect on the personal hygiene and safety of consumers, as such it behoves all to ensure that it was given the utmost attention.

The Municipal Chief Executive commended the two organisations for their role in providing the five water treatment plants for some communities in the area.

He explained that though the assembly contributed about GH¢5,000 towards the project, it would commit more resources to maintain the facility.

The chief of the area, Nii Amasa Oseiku II, pleaded with the government and other NGOs to come to the aid of the area.

Source: Gifty Okyere, The Ghanaian Times, 15 November 2010

Ghana: Ashaiman Municipal Assembly inaugurates four projects

Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) on Tuesday 9 November 2010 inaugurated four completed projects at a total cost of GH 1.7 million.

The projects are a 10-seater water closet toilet facility for the Ashaiman Senior High School, sheds and pavement at the main market as well as street lights at Taabo Electoral Area.

Numo Adinortey Addison, Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) who inaugurated the projects, said the market sheds and the pavement cost GH 270,000, while a total of GH 52,000 went into the construction of the toilet facility.

Numo Addison added that the installation of the street lights which cost GH 139,000 was part of the implementation of the phase two of the Urban Environmental Sanitation Programme.

He said under that project, a total of about GH 1.9 million would be used to construct streets, drains as well as the installation of streetlights at 11 electoral areas.

The MCE indicated that the construction of the sheds was to enable many of the market women to get comfortable places to sell their wares.

He pleaded with the market women and other residents to honour their toll obligations, to enable the assembly to undertake more development projects.

Numo Addison said the installation of the street lights would also improve the lives of residents in the area, as well as bring a face-lift to urban poor communities and slums.

On the Ashaiman Senior High School toilet facility, he said the project was part of planned programmes of the assembly, to help upgrade the only public academic facility in the Municipality.

He said the municipal assembly is considering the building of an assembly hall and a Library facility for the school.

Source: Business Ghana /GNA, 10 November 2010