Nigeria: Launching the Multi-Sectoral Partnership on Environmental Sanitation and Hygiene

In a bid to improve cleanliness in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with Initiative for Community Development, has come to a round table to discuss ways and means to employ collective approach in tackling the problems and challenges of sanitation and hygiene practices in Nigeria.

The event, which is a derivative of a consultative meeting by environmental health stakeholders held on the 22nd of July, 2010, was well attended by partnering NGOs, civil servants and the media. It brought to the fore, the need for public-private partnership in advancing proper implementation and enforcement of environmental health and sanitation laws in Nigeria.

In a welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mallam M.S. Bashar ably represented by Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Dr. O. Dada, commented that “sustainable development starts from provision of basic sanitation that promotes people’s health and dignity”, adding that such “development will bring remarkable hints which will foster the health and well being of the population at large”. Further charging the participants, he hinted that “there cannot be better ways of handling sanitation problems in the country rather than to employ integrated and holistic approach”.

Appraising the Ministry of Environment for assisting in alleviating the problems of environmental sanitation in the past, Bashar hinted that the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA), and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), were created to check environmental problems in the nation. He urged all Nigerians to be environmental sanitation vanguards and stand up to support the noble course geared towards transforming Nigeria to become a better nation.

In a key note address, the Honourable Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey, ably represented by Director of Human Resources of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Alhaji Gambo Jakarda stressed: “Environmental sanitation continues to remain a major challenge affecting the socio-economic development in Nigeria”. While calling for partnership and emphasising that the ministry alone cannot drive the process, he revealed that, “12 per cent of the population have no toilet of any kind, less than 50 per cent have access to improved water services while 87 per cent use sanitary waste disposal methods”. He urged the private sector to assist in redressing the situation.

The CEO of the Initiative for Community Development (ICD), Hon. Benjamin Ogbalor, in a presentation on the purpose of the partnership, averred that sanitation and partnership are central to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. He further disclosed that the aim of the partnership is “to call all actors to operate on this plan and get results”.

Speaking further on the immediate actions needed to be taken, Ogbalor stressed that a project management team should be constituted; a national plan developed and validated; roles and responsibilities be assigned; as well as joint implementation, assessment, report and review be assigned with mutual accountability, among others.
“Nigeria has a Vision 20:2020; certainly, we cannot achieve this goal with an unhealthy environment, because a few of the MDGs are related to environmental sanitation”. He called on all actors that can contribute to the development of environmental sanitation and hygiene control to lend a hand and aid in the development of the health sector in Nigeria.

Worthy of emphasis was the presence of the Commissioner of Environment for Niger State, Alh. Muhammed Adamu, who came to pledge support and goodwill for the launch of the multi-sectoral partnership on sanitation and hygiene practices in Nigeria. While lauding the Initiative for Community Development (ICD), and the Federal Ministry of Environment, he enjoined all to assist in improving our environmental challenges, stressing, “We must all put hands together and actualise our dreams”.

Also notable was a representative from the Yakubu Gowon Centre, Mr. M.B Agbang who came to endorse the launch. In a goodwill speech, he expressed the hope that “this initiative will foster the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals”. He further challenged the Federal Ministry of Health and the Initiative for Community Development to “go beyond formulation of policies and address environmental issues that negatively affect the environment on a daily basis”. Making reference to increase in the number of cars and generators being imported into the country, he argued that the increase has only worsened the fight against environmental pollution. He called on both bodies to form policies against this.

Giving the vote of thanks, the Deputy Director of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. (Mrs.) N.Ezeigwe, appreciated the commitment of the state officials and partners, while commissioning the organisers of the event. She prayed the audience to commit with indices that will move us forward towards the attainment of the MDGs and also, called on the media to partner with the Government to move the initiative forward.

It can be recalled that on March 22nd, 2010, the Federal Ministry of Environment entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Initiative for Community Development. The understanding was geared towards private sector participation in the area of environmental sanitation and control and also, fashion out a mechanism for joint funding, implementation and assessment of environmental sanitation and actions in Nigeria by all stakeholders within the framework of Public Private Partnership.

Source: Augustina Onyeche Kadiri, allAfrica.com, 27 December 2010

Ghana: first National Environmental Sanitation Conference takes place in Kumasi

The government should set up a revolving fund for Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) initiatives, in collaboration with Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) and local government. This was one of the recommendations from Ghana’s first National Environmental Sanitation Conference (NESCON).

The conference was held in Kumasi from 8-10 December in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. The theme was “building partnerships for scaling up improved environmental sanitation services”, covering both solid waste management and household sanitation.

The conference presented, among others, highlights of the Environmental Sanitation Policy (Revised 2010), the National Environmental Sanitation Strategy and Action Plan (NESSAP) and the Strategic Environmental Sanitation Investment Plan (SESIP) and District Environmental Sanitation Strategy and Action Plans (DESSAPs).

NESCON 2010 was organised by the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) in partnership with Development Partners (DPs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), Private Operators and others.

Read the concluding statement and recommendations and all presentations.

Source: Abu Wambei, RCN Ghana, 18 Dec 2010

East Africa: EAC ‘Must Invest in Water Management’

East Africa must invest in water resource management and utilisation to ensure the protection of water bodies across the region, a top Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) has said.

LVBC Executive Secretary Tom Okurut told participants in a Lake Victoria Basin investment forum that investment in water management would enhance equity in water utilisation.

The delegates, who included investors and potential investors, were made aware of the investment opportunities that the Lake Victoria basin offers and how, if fully exploited, the lake could turn around the lives of the people in the region.

Dr Okurut said enhancement of information technology would help promote investments in the region.

Regarding research, he urged the private sector and financial institutions to develop a regional research and development policy. Delegates said joint efforts to market and promote regional tourism in the Lake Victoria Basin should be made.

Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake, the largest tropical lake in the world and is earth’s second largest freshwater lake – only second to Lake Superior in North America.
The lake supports Africa’s largest inland fishery and is home to thousands of biodiversity, flora and fauna. It is a source of food, water and some of the world’s most beautiful tourist attraction spots.

The fishing villages around the lake depend on it but they are mostly poor. Investment in the fish industry would open employment opportunities for these people. “Hydro electric power is another area of investment to meet the energy needs of the region and this is still an area that needs more investment to meet the energy deficit,” says Dr Okurut.

The East African Investment Promotion Agencies in the region want investment but will also want the eco-system preserved.

Source: The Citizen / (allAfrica.com, 15 December 2010

Tanzania: Area hit by water blues

Handeni residents  have blamed the government for the delay in rehabilitation and expansion of a key water project to allow villagers access clean water supply.

The 20-year design period of the project was supposed to end in 1994, but the project, which is now 35 years old, has depended on short term repairs. It has not, however, been able to operate at full capacity and in some areas like Manga, on Segera-Chalinze highway, water has not been flowing since 1996.

The stakeholders were voicing their concern during a special tour sponsored by Policy Forum. According to the Forum accountability, evaluation and monitoring manager, Mr Albanie Marcossy, the DC had requested the stakeholders to visit the project to see government efforts to ensure Handeni residents get water from the project.

Source: George Sembony, The Citizen /allAfrica.com,  12 December 2010

Kenya: Kisii town to benefit from water and sanitation programme

A Stakeholders Workshop held in Kisii Town last month endorsed a roadmap to design and implement a major water and sanitation development programme for the town, which will build on investments already completed under the Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Initiative.

UN-HABITAT will provide pre-investment capacity building under the Initiative and the Global Water Operators Partnership Alliance to design the Progamme and strengthen the institutional capacity of the local service provider to enable the Government of Kenya to access funding from interested development partners, including the German Development Bank (KfW) and the private sector.

Kisii is an important urban and commercial centre in south-western Kenya and its development has long been constrained by a lack of effective urban planning and poor infrastructure. UN-HABITAT, through the Initiative has assisted in providing a strategic urban plan for the town and in expanding access to water, sanitation and solid waste management services.

These interventions have been complemented by training and capacity building for the Gusii Water Company as well as a number of pre-investment studies to lay the groundwork for a long term water and sanitation development programme. The work carried out under LVWATSAN has attracted the interest of potential development partners, including KfW and USAID.

The Stakeholders Workshop was attended by over 50 participants drawn from the Government of Kenya, the local authorities, the Gusii Water Company, UN-HABITAT and its Consultants, the Multi-Stakeholder Forum, representing the community-based organizations and the media.

In his remarks to officially open the workshop, the Representative of the Regional Commissioner Mrs. Lydia Muriuki noted that while service delivery in the town had improved with support provided under the Initiative, there is now a need to develop a consensus among the stakeholders on the main elements of a long term water and sanitation strategy for the town, including an agreed action plan and time frame.

The workshop benefited from a number of presentations from UN-HABITAT staff and consultants which highlighted the investment gaps in water and sanitation in the town, the results of studies carried out and the areas of possible assistance.

In endorsing a way forward, the Stakeholders agreed that there was a need to consolidate the various studies and proposals into a comprehensive Business and Investment Plan for water and sanitation development, which should address key constraints, including the expansion of the network to extend service to the entire town and the peri-urban areas, construction of a mini-hydro scheme, development of groundwater resources and further capacity enhancement for the service provider. UN-HABITAT was requested to provide assistance to prepare the updated Business and Investment Plan, which will then be submitted to KfW and other interested donors with priority being given to the construction of the mini-hydro project to reduce energy costs and maximize the utilization of clean energy.

Source: UN-HABITAT, 14 December 2010

Nigeria: Agency launches sanitation project in three Katsina Local Government Areas

The Katsina State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) has launched a project for the actualization of 100 percent sanitation, water and hygiene coverage in three selected local government areas of the state by the year 2014.

The project, funded by the United Kingdom’s department for international development (DFID) under the sanitation, water and hygiene in Nigeria (SHAWN) is to focus on communities in Bakori, Kaita and Mai’adua local government areas of the state.

In an address during a capacity building workshop for sanitation departments of the selected councils, the executive director of RUWASSA, Abubakar Mamman Gege said the project was aimed at ensuring total sanitation, personal and household hygiene with emphasis on the eradication of open defecation. The director who was represented by the agency’s secretary, Hamisu Musa Abubakar also disclosed other areas of encouragement included hand washing with soap and water as well as the provision of adequate and portable drinking water in all the communities.

The agency also trained the communities in the preventive maintenance of hand pumps as well as formation of water, sanitation and hygiene committees (WASHCOMS) to enable them maintain their sanitation facilities.

Source: Lawal Ibrahim, Daily Trust / allAfrica.com, 9 December 2010

Ghana: Beverage companies should be charged commercial tariffs for water

Mr Alban Sumani Kingsley Bagbin, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, has suggested that water supplied to beverage companies should be charged commercial tariffs to raise enough revenue for the State.

He explained that the beverage companies use about 70 percent of water in manufacturing their products and make huge profits out of the water but pay the same rate as domestic users which, he said, was unfair.

Mr Bagbin was addressing a forum in Tamale on Tuesday, December 7, on the Water Sector in the Northern Region and the steps government was undertaking to address the supply of potable water to the citizenry. The forum was attended by a cross section of the population including MPs, DCEs, heads of the government agencies and the security agencies. The Minister said although water is regarded as a right, it must also be considered as a commercial commodity, which comes at a cost and called for modalities to ensure that commercial users pay the appropriate tariffs.

He appealed to Ghanaians to assist the government in its quest at sustaining, improving and maintaining the water systems, saying that the Northern Region may face huge water supply challenges if nothing was done to rehabilitate the existing water supply systems. He said the region had three urban water supply systems, which included Tamale, Yendi and Damango with all of them needing some rehabilitation otherwise the region in three years might have no access to potable water supply. He emphasized that the Damongo water supply system would be rehabilitated at the cost of US$15.5m while Yendi would be rehabilitated at the cost of US$28.0m.

“The Ministry is currently in negotiations with various funding bodies including Hapoalim Bank of Israel, Hidrobiente Group, African Development Bank and two Chinese companies to provide funding for further expansion of these projects,” he stressed. The Minister said the government was, therefore, developing a comprehensive national development programme embracing the three sub sectors of water resources – conservation and management, rural and small sector and urban water delivery to address the problems of water supply in the country to meet the Millennium Development Goal’s targets.

Mr Moses Bukari Mabengba, the Northern Regional Minister, said although the government had made a lot of interventions in the water sector, the region was still facing serious challenges in the provision of water to the region. He said the rate of delivery of water and sanitation facilities had not kept pace with the increasing demand by the growing population and settlements in the region. He said only about 60 percent of the rural and peri-urban population had access to safe water leaving the un-served population at risk to the various forms of water-borne and water related diseases such as diarrhoea and guinea worm.

Mr Mabengba commended CIDA, UNICEF, CWSA, ADRA and other development partners for their contributions towards the provision of water at various parts of the region.

Source: GNA / BusinessGhana, 8 December 2010

Botswana: Government tables a new bill

The government has tabled a bill in parliament which seeks to allow state company, Water Utilities, to carry out wastewater service delivery.

Reading the bill for the second time 7 December 2010, the minister responsible for water resources, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, said the bill will give Water Utilities the powers to carry out sanitation, sewer connection, sewerage and septic tank emptying services, in areas to be designated by the ministry.

But the move may be seen as dis-empowering city councils and district councils. First to take the floor to debate the bill, was Tonota South MP Pono Moatlhodi, who said although he supports the bill, the councils will now be powerless if the bill is passed. He said the decision follows that of the health ministry earlier this year when it centralised its services.

Moatlhodi also argued that the bill will impoverish Batswana as water tariffs and connection fees will go up. Moatlhodi said this will contradict efforts to eradicate poverty in the country.

Source: GABZfm, 8 December 2010

Tanzania: New cholera outbreak: 4 die

Four people died and 58 were hospitalised following a fresh outbreak of cholera in the eastern Tanzanian region of Morogoro, an official said Wednesday.

“Three of the deceased persons are members of the same family,” Morogoro regional health officer, Cares Lyimo, told AFP. He said the first cases in the area were reported two weeks ago and added that 58 people had since been admitted to hospital with cholera symptoms.

Lyimo said water shortages in the region, forcing residents to buy unsafe water from vendors, were to blame for the outbreak.

The disease is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and is spread by consuming contaminated food or water.

Around 60 people died of cholera in Tanzania’s northeast Tanga region in September and October.

Source: AFP / News24, 8 December 2010

Uganda: Nation shows improvement on MDGs

About 75% of Ugandans have access to safe water, compared to only 53% 10 years ago, according to a report released by the Ministry of Finance on 5 December 2010.

The report showed that Uganda had made significant progress towards many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The September 2010 report noted that progress had been made, especially in reducing the number of people in absolute poverty and those facing food shortage. It also showed that progress had been made in gender equality and women empowerment. The report said the target of gender parity between boys and girls in primary school had been achieved, adding that the country was also on track to meet the target of access to HIV/AIDS treatment and safe water. There has also been progress in the global partnership for development, notably in ensuring debt relief and sustainability, as well as expanding access to information and communication technology.

However, the Government said progress has “been too slow to meet the MDGs”. While access to primary education has improved, rates of completion of a full course of primary education have stagnated in recent years. The Government agreed that several of the health targets, such as child and maternal mortality, access to reproductive health, and the incidence of malaria and other diseases, had also progressed slowly.

Commenting on HIV/AIDS, the report revealed that there were significant challenges in sustaining past gains, adding that new infections had increased. “Population growth is adding to the number of new infections, as is transmission of HIV between older age groups, especially those that are married or cohabitating.”

The Government also noted that the dwindling of foreign development assistance was expected to continue because of the global financial crisis.

The analysis showed that even if there was progress towards many of the MDGs, the benefits were unevenly shared. “Levels of poverty are more than twice as high in rural areas than in urban areas, and poverty levels remain higher, and have fallen less rapidly, in the northern and eastern regions of the country,” the report said.

On maternal health, the Government reported that every day, about 16 women die while giving birth in Uganda. To combat the trend, it proposed interventions in emergency obstetric care, which addresses the direct causes of maternal death. These are bleeding, sepsis, unsafe abortion, hypertensive disorders and obstructed labour. These are responsible for about 80% of maternal deaths.

The Government acknowledged that special effort is needed if the MDGs are to be met not just in national averages, but also in real progress for all Ugandans.

Source: Barbara Among, New Vision /allAfrica.com, 6 December 2010