Africa: WASH United introduces the World Toilet Cup game

Footballer Jonathan Pitroipa in Burkina Faso. Photo: WASH United

Hamburger SV football player Jonathan Pitroipa played the “World Toilet Cup” game in his home country of Burkina Faso where he launched the WASH United campaign on 4 June 2010. First introduced in November 2009 during the second Africa Water Week in Johannesburg, South Africa, the “World Toilet Cup” game makes a symbolic effort at tackling the sanitation crisis in Africa by trying to kick as many brown “poo balls” as possible into latrines and toilets.

WASH United is an initiative set up by German NGO Brot für die Welt linking international organisations with football stars like Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben to promote safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. In the campaign, leading up to the 2010 World Cup, WASH United focuses on promoting safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for all in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Lesotho, Uganda and Tanzania.

In addition to activities in the WASH United target countries, there are also targeted activities taking place in Europe to raise awareness for the importance of water and sanitation among the general public and political decision makers.

Besides WASH related games like the “World Toilet Cup”, WASH United has developed promotional posters and Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for radio and TV. There are briefing papers for each target country aimed at decision makers, and there is a curriculum (consisting both of classroom materials and football-based games) that uses the power of football and the role model status of the football stars.

WASH United’s international partners include not only sector organisations like WaterAid, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the World Toilet Organizations but also football clubs like FC Bayern München (strategic partner), Hamburger SV and Juventus Turin. WASH United is financially supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

To join WASH United, either as an individual or an organisation go to www.wash-united.org

Lesotho, Maseru: new World Bank project to provide reliable water supply

The Kingdom of Lesotho signed a US$25 million financing agreement signed with the World Bank (with a US$8.5 million grant component) for a project that will provide reliable water supply for the people and industry in Maseru, the capital city and adjoining areas.

[...] “The Government of Lesotho is committed to meeting the challenge of water security as an essential element of our sustainable development strategy,” said Hon. Dr. Timothy Thahane, Lesotho’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, at the signing ceremony. “Providing reliable water supply to our industries which account for about 40 percent of the gross domestic product will help us to secure economic growth. And as we know potable water is vital for reducing childhood illnesses.”

Lesotho has achieved strong results in the water sector, and over 80 percent of its population has access to safe drinking water. The national utility, Lesotho Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), established in 1991 is efficiently run and has kept its operating costs below income.

“The provision of 75,000 cubic meters (m3) per day of additional treated water will enable Lesotho to meet domestic and industrial requirement in the medium-term,” said Ruth Kagia, World Bank Country Director for Lesotho, speaking at the signing ceremony. “The World Bank is pleased to support Lesotho’s efforts to harness this critical resource through a multi-donor program.”

The project will support WASA’s efforts to improve water supplies and expand coverage, both in Maseru and other fast-growing urban centers such as Mazenod, Morija, Roma, and Teyateyaneng. When the project is completed in 2013, water supply coverage in Maseru is expected to reach 90 percent, and sanitation coverage is expected to increase from the low level of 15 percent in Maseru and six percent in the centers to 20 percent and 10 percent respectively.

The project is led by Lesotho’s Metolong Authority, with the World Bank providing technical support including in the areas of operational and fiduciary safeguards. The bulk of financing is being contributed by Lesotho’s development partners such as the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Kuwait Fund, Millennium Challenge Corporation, OPEC Fund for International Development, and Saudi Fund for Development. The European Development Fund supported project preparation, and the Government of South Africa is finalizing its support for the project.

The project is part of the larger, US$284 million Metolong Dam and Water Supply Program (MDWSP) which is the Government of Lesotho’s strategic effort to achieve water security in the 21st Century.

For more information see the Water Sector Improvement APL Phase II: Metolong Dam and Water Supply project page.

Source: World Bank, 02 Oct 2009

Lesotho: Africa’s biggest water project to enter second phase

South Africa has approved the second phase of a multi-billion dollar water project in landlocked Lesotho to ensure a secure future water supply in its industrial hub, the water minister said Thursday, [04 December 2008].

{Started in 1984], the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, one of the world’s largest infrastructure projects under construction [...] diverts water from Lesotho’s mountains to South Africa’s richest province Gauteng. The project [will cost an estimated] 7.3 billion rand (710 million US dollars/560 million euros).

{The project] came under fire from civic groups [like International Rivers] for displacing up to 20,000 people, [...] introducing AIDS, alcoholism and prostitution, and causing the loss of farming and grazing land.

The project also resulted in convictions of some of the world’s largest engineering firms, after massive corruption was uncovered in 1999.

Source: AFP / Yahoo! News, 04 Dec 2008

Lesotho: Water running on empty

Thousands of people in Lesotho who already face chronic food insecurity risk losing access to water, due to the prolonged drought, IRIN, reported on 4 July 2008.

[...].

“According to the Lesotho Department of Rural Water Supplies (DRWS), 30 percent of water points – boreholes, wells and springs – in rural areas have dried up. In both the highlands and the lowlands, thousands now depend solely on limited surface water, where and when it is available.

A 2007 assessment of water and sanitation needs in schools, undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training, indicated that more than 60 percent of boreholes in the lowland districts had already dried up as the water table dropped.”

DRWS figures indicate that up to 30% of households nationwide now lack access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities, up from 21% in 2006

Water scarcity “is likely to lead to increased incidents of water-borne diseases, such as cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery”, UNICEF Education Specialist, Bernard Batidzirai, said.

[...]

“An internal MoSW survey found that approximately 60 percent of the country’s health centres did not have access to clean, safe water”.

[...]

“In response to the crisis, the UK’s Department for International Development has made available some US$1 million, with which UNICEF has provided 310 hand pumps and rehabilitated 345 more, constructed 40 boreholes and erected 50 water tanks, providing safe drinking water to nearly 200,000 people and 81,000 school children”.

Ironically Lesotho exports large amounts of water to South Africa as part of the controversial Lesotho Highlands Water Project. To tackle the increasing domestic, industrial and institutional water needs in Lesotho, the government has initiated the European Union financed Lesotho Lowlands Water Supply Scheme.