Africa could finally be turning a corner in the sanitation crisis, say civil society groups, ANEW and FAN, NGO WaterAid, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council and the End Water Poverty Campaign.
Source: Public Agenda / allAfrica.com, 25 July 2011
Twenty years after the UN launched the Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, and 10 years into the MDGs, the news from a global think tank this week, that more than one billion people still live without access to safe drinking water, health care, and other essentials of daily life doesn’t really make headlines or frighten anyone in Africa.
Source: Ako Amadi, Next, 27 July 2011,
Posted in Policies & legislation
Tagged access to sanitation, access to water, development aid, MDGs
Ghana can exceed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of 54 per cent on sanitation by 2015 through effective implementation of the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) concept.
Dr Kamal Kar, founder of CLTS Foundation, who made the observation said this would require behavioural change among Ghanaians towards sanitation, especially open defecation, based on analysis and understanding of the situation.
He was addressing a high-level meeting on CLTS in Accra on Monday.
The meeting organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, was to deliberate on critical issues of sanitation, its affect on economic and social development to engender better understanding of CLTS among development partners and other stakeholders in sanitation.
The meeting was attended by development partners such as UNICEF, CIDA Relief international, USAID and AusAID and representation of the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, Local Government and Rural Development and Environment and Science.
Source: GNA, 28 February 2011
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
Minister of Water Resources, Chief Obadia Ando, has expressed dissatisfaction with the average sanitation coverage in Nigeria which, he said, is still as low as 45 percent.
Ando said in an address at the 2nd National Round Table Conference on Community-Led Total Sanitation yesterday in Calabar , that most communities in Nigeria are yet to have access to safe means of human waste disposal.
He disclosed that from the baseline survey conducted by the Ministry in 2007, the average sanitation coverage is still as low as 45 per cent, while that of the rural sanitation is about 35 per cent.
Liquid Gold - Children in the Central African Republic pump clean water from underground. Photo: Marielle van Uitert
This photo won the first prize for professional photographers in the MDG Goal 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability) category of UNDP’s Second Annual Picture This photo contest. This year’s competition drew attention to the quickly approaching deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Marielle van Uitert. Photo: EO
Dutch photographer Marielle van Uitert (36) took her prize-winning photo in the Central African Republic in March 2010, on behalf of the Dutch aid organization Cordaid. The children in the photo live near an orphanage there.
“These children were so happy to finally get some clean water,” Marielle says. “They sometimes do competitions to see who can be the first one to fill the bucket with water.”
The vice president and minister of Women Affairs, Her Excellency Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, Monday inaugurated water supply projects in Kuntair in the Jokadu District and Saaba village in Lower Baddibou District, North Bank Region (NBR).
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Saaba, the vice president expressed gratitude to the Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh and the European Union (EU) for the completion of the water supply system in Kuntair, which is under the Rural Water Supply Sector Support Programme (RWSSSP).
She noted that the water facilities provided by the programme will not only provide clean potable water supply to the country’s rural population, but also go a long way in reducing the stress on our national health budget as access to potable water will surely reduce the occurrences of many water-borne diseases.
The Gambia, she said, has made significant strives in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of providing safe drinking water to its populace, adding that the challenge in the water sector in the coming years will be to promote and facilitate the management of our water resources without forgetting to maintain an equitable balance between competing consumers of water. VP Njie-Saidy explained that work in this area would not be purely technological in nature, but will necessarily touch on important social, economic and political issues, since the focus will be on sustainability and the management of water supply facilities by the concerned communities themselves.
Commenting on the water supply system in Kerewan and its surrounding villages like Saaba, Kinteh Kunda and Suwareh Kunda, the vice president encouraged residents of the local communities to take advantage of the subsidised water connection to pay the minimum cost in order to get taps in their compounds; since according to her, that will reduce the burden of paying for street taps by the Kerewan Area Council, which is already owing Nawec millions of dalasis.
For her part, Helene Cave, the EU charge de Affairs, said the presence of VP Njie-Saidy to inaugurate the project in spite of her busy schedule shows the importance of the water supply sector in the country and her political commitment to address this key sector for the development of the country.
She seized the opportunity to thank the Department of Water Resources, NAO Support Unit and the EU delegation for bringing water supply to the rural villages.
Source: Alhagie Babou Jallow, The Daily Observer /allAfrica.com, 11 August 2010
The government of Burkina Faso has embarked on the construction of 55,000 latrines each year to improve access to proper sanitation for the population from the present 10 percent to 54 percent by 2015.
According to the authorities, the average rate of access to sanitation in urban areas is currently 20 percent, while in rural areas, it is as low as one percent in some areas.
Burkina Faso will invest 24 million dollars in each of the next five years. The government, which now spends $8 million a year thanks to support from donors, plans to double, even triple its own annual contribution of around $2 million from the national budget.
“When you look at all sectors, things are moving. But on sanitation, a domain so fundamental to quality of life, we can see that we are very far behind,” Laurent Sédogo, Burkinabé minister for agriculture, water and fisheries resources told IPS.
“To put it plainly, out of every 1,000 people, only 100 have adequate (sanitation) infrastructure. The other 900 must take to the bush and, to protect their modesty, many wait until the dead of night because of the loss of vegetation,” Sédogo said.
Amélie Ouédraogo, a resident of the Tanghin neighbourhood of the Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou, said that construction of latrines will permit the dead to regain their peace. “Even the cemeteries are not safe when night falls. We see people headed there, but we cannot prevent them from relieving themselves.”
According to Ouédraogo, the situation is even more dire during the rainy season, because the water which flows through the streets, a favourite playground for children, is polluted. “We have cases of diarrhoea, but people refuse to make the link between these illnesses and their causes.”
Mahamoudou Sana, a merchant in one of Ouaga’s livestock markets said, “Once we have latrines, both we and our customers can make ablutions and wash ourselves before prayers. Previously, we had to hide ourselves in tall bush to relieve ourselves during the day.”
The ministry of health underlines that the absence of toilets leads to illness, notably diarrhoea, which is responsible for 58 percent of child deaths in Burkina.
According to non-governmental organisation WaterAid, some 2,000 children die every day. The NGO adds that simply using toilets could reduce the incidence of diarrhoea by 40 percent; clean toilets, combined with safe drinking water and good hygiene, cases of diarrhoea could be reduced by 90 percent.
WaterAid is worried that 90 percent of African nations will not achieve the Millennium Development Goal on sanitation, and says that African heads of state – who re-committed themselves to promoting maternal health at the July summit of the African Union – to resolve questions of sanitation if they want to reduce child and maternal mortality.
In rural areas, where 80 percent of Burkina Faso’s population lives, the government’s plan is for 395,000 households to build toilets, as well as the construction of 12,300 public latrines. The programme also foresees 222,000 new household toilets in urban centres, alongside 900 public latrines in schools, health centres, markets and public transit points.
The Burkinabé president, Blaise Compaoré, personally participated in the launch of the campaign, with an eye to enlisting both the general population and international financial partners to make sanitation a national priority.
The government offensive comes after finding that the pace of progress is insufficient to attain the goal on sanitation in a context of rapid population growth. According to the last census in 2006, Burkina Faso’s growth rate of three percent is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa and the world.
“Across West and Central Africa, coverage in urban areas varies between 30 and 60 percent, while in rural areas the rate is from 1 to 22 percent,” says Armah Klutsé, of the Regional Centre for Low-cost Water Supply and Sanitation (known by its French acronym, CREPA).
With headquarters in Ouagadougou, CREPA is active in 17 West and Central African countries, where it supports governments in the design and implementation of policy on sanitation and potable water.
“With this display of political will, it seems that action will be taken to achieve (sanitation goals),” Klutsé says.
Source: Brahima Ouédraogo, Inter Press Service / allAfrica.com, 31 July 2010
The Department of Water Resources, with funding from the African Development Bank (ADB) has prepared an assessment report on water supply and sanitation sectors of The Gambia. It identied successes and challenges in delivering sanitation and water supply services. The report is part of a continent-wide assessment requested by the African Ministerial Conference on Water (AMCOW).
At a validation workshop on the report, the Minister of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, Lamin Kabba Bajo, disclosed that The Gambia is on track in meeting the MDGs target for water supply, with 85% to 95% urban coverage and 81% rural coverage, based on data from 2006. Despite the achievements in the country’s water and sanitation sectors, Minister Bajo said the sub-sectors continue to be faced with a number of challenges that would require the formulation of [a new] strategy and the establishment of a coordination mechanism.
Collins Annoh, a representative of African Development Bank (ADB), told the gathering that since the 1980s, the bank has provided finance amounting to about 37 million Euros to The Gambia to support development and improvements in the water and sanitation sectors. “The Gambia Country Status Overview (CSO), for which this meeting is being organised seeks to capture among other things, current data on recent sector developments and efforts towards achieving national or MDG targets by 2015,” he said.
Source: Amadou Jallow, Daily Observer / allAfrica.com, 10 Jun 2010
Posted in Gambia, Policies & legislation, Water supply
Tagged African Development Bank, AMCOW, MDGs, sector assessments
A two-year project launched in March 2010 is helping local governments in 15 African countries contribute to the achievement of the Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
United Cities and Local Governments for Africa (UCLGA) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa are partners in the European Commission (EC) funded project ‘Local Initiatives in Promotion of the Attainment of Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals’
The project is taking place in 15 countries within Sub-Saharan Africa: Benin, Bostwana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, which together represent over 383 million citizens.
The main aim of this project is to ensure that the role of local authorities in the delivery of the water and sanitation MDGs is recognized and to enhance the capacity of local authorities to fulfill that role through sharing of knowledge and innovative practices.
It further aims to increase national-local dialogue regarding water and sanitation issues. It is hoped that utilizing the local authorities as an entry point will ensure adoption of improved water and sanitation delivery that will directly benefit local communities.
The national local government associations taking part in the project are members of the UCLGA’s Water and Sanitation Focal Point Network (FPN). UCLGA plans to hold the inaugural FPN Training workshop in August 2010 in Pretoria, South Africa.
The project’s main activities include:
The project believes that by lobbying that national departments responsible for water and sanitation service delivery and the attainment of the MDGs, based on well-informed and articulate policy positions, greater consideration will given by the water sector in the 15 target countries to the role and issues of local government in the provision of water and sanitation services to communities.
It is also anticipated that through the development and publication of in-country policy position papers, and based on successful lobby and advocacy engagements, the role of local authorities in the delivery of water and sanitation MDGs will be clearly articulated in national policies and strategies to the benefit of local communities.
Another output of significant anticipated impact is the adoption of clear plans towards the attainment of water and sanitation MDGs by 25% of local authorities in the 15 target countries. A key thrust of the project will be towards the decentralisation of service delivery to the local level. As a result, ICLEI Africa, as project partner will be working closely with national associations and their Focal Points to promote the adoption of local plans that spell out the road towards the attainment of the water and sanitation MDGs.
While a key thrust of this project will be on policy development, a second key focus will be on local, on-the-ground impact by adopting knowledge sharing and capacity enhancement approaches. This should lead to the adoption of improved innovative water and sanitation service delivery approaches and practices by local authorities. Key project documentation will include the results from the piloting of the e-Wisa Municipal Assistant and the regular documentation and dissemination of good practice. In addition, the Focal Point Network will provide a learning platform from which to promote good practices.
Contact: Samuel Kaninda, MDGs Project Coordinator, UCLGA, South Africa, e-mail: skaninda@uclgafrica.org
Web sites : www.uclgafrica.org and www.iclei.org/africa
Read the project media release (12 March 2010)
Posted in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Governance, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Policies & legislation, Rwanda, Sanitation, South Africa, Uganda, Urban WASH, Water supply, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Tagged eWISA Municipal Assistant, ICLEI, local government, MDGs, S1005-Africa, UCLGA
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