Kenya, Nyanza: water and sanitation improvements at Atono school

Posted on August 13, 2010 by dietvorst

The water and sanitation facilities at Atono school, especially the girls' urinal, have attracted visitors from within Kenya and from Tanzania, Saudi Arabia and U.S.A. Photo: IRC/Ingeborg Krukkert

Mr Daniel Odhiambo is headmaster of the Atono School in Nyanza – one of only four schools in Kenya with urinals for girls. Netwas Kenya and IRC visited his school recently as part of a UNICEF Kenya study of 43 schools in four districts: Coast (Mombasa); Nyanza (Rachuonyo & Kisumu); Rift Valley (Kajiado); and North Eastern (Garissa). The aim of the study was to find out if the national Kenyan Ministry of Health standard ratio of 1 latrine to 25 girls and 1 toilet to 30 boys can be downgraded if the pupils also have access to urinals, and if so, what would be the new ratio.

This was a follow-up of 2004-2005 research on the enhancement of sanitation and hygiene for Kenya's school children, carried out by IRC together with seven partner organisations in Kenya. That study showed that school toilet standards were not being met.Sanitation and hygiene facilities at the school include:

• Two VIP toilets and a bathroom for teachers.
  
• Three toilets and a urinal for girls, and three toilets and a urinal for boys.
  
• Three handwashing vessels, one for each group, with soap.
  
• Three drinking vessels, one for each group.
  
• Soap for washing/cleaning the facilities
  

See a photo story about the water and sanitation improvements at Atono school.

Read more about girls' urinals in the SWASH+ report by Shannon McMahon entitled "Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of Girls' Urinals".

Source: Source Bulletin, Aug 2010

Burkina Faso: Race to achieve goals on sanitation

Posted on August 3, 2010 by westerhof

 

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

 

This entry was posted in Burkina Faso, Sanitation and tagged latrines, MDGs, open defecation. Bookmark the permalink.

Ghana: No toilet facilities for Pong-Tamale Senior High School

Posted on August 4, 2010 by westerhof

Students of Pong-Tamale Senior High School (PONTASS) in the Northern Region are making do with free-range (open defecation) because of lack of toilet facilities at the school.

Most of the over 800 students have deserted the only toilet in the school which is near the boys' dormitory because it is but a harvest of maggots. What is curious is the fact that the school authorities are aware that particular toilet cannot meet the demands of the student population.

The female students are even worse-off, because there is an uncompleted female toilet facility which has been abandoned since 2005. The facility is now a den of snakes and other predators. Students have, on several occasions, reported snake bites and scorpion stings while patronising the free-range or walking towards their dormitories.

The situation becomes very unbearable especially during the rainy season, as students try to evade notorious flies, as well as, device tactics to locate safe grounds to squat and do their own thing in an already messy one.

The school, established in 1991, is one of the two second cycle institutions in the Savelugu-Nanton District of the Northern Region. However, it is seriously reeling under numerous problems, one being the unavailability of proper toilet facilities.

Master Iddrisu Mohammed Rashad, the Senior Boys Prefect, expressed disquiet about the condition, explaining that the open defecation leads to the contamination of the major source of drinking water for the students, a dug-out dam.

Runoff water washes faecal matter into the dam whenever it rains heavily. A visit to the site confirmed that the dam, which lies on a lower gradient is constructed some 50 metres away from the boy's dormitory.

Apart from the unbearable stench that emanates from the open defecation spot, Master Iddrisu Rashad, fears that a possible outbreak of cholera and other ailments are eminent if nothing is done about the situation immediately.

Other challenges facing the school include lack of accommodation for students and staff, lack of a library for the school and lack of potable water. Although the school has been running the boarding system for some time now, over-crowding at the dormitories is a major challenge to students, which sometimes compels them to sleep in their classrooms.

Also, students are forced to use the water from a dug-out dam together with cattle and other domestic animals in the community. It is distressing to learn that most students complain of stomach-ache and other water-related ailment from time to time. For instance, in a week an average of five students report of sickness at either the Savelugu Government Hospital or other health facilities in Tamale.

Source: Kwesi Yirenkyi Boateng, Public Agenda / (allAfrica.com, 2 August 2010

South Africa: Sanitation for 3000 Lukhanji households

Posted on August 6, 2010 by westerhof

Lukhanji Municipality has been listed as one of two municipalities set to benefit from R3-million which has been allocated to wards the upliftment of rural household basic sanitation during the 2010/11 financial year.

The allocation was made possible by the Human Settlements Department with Ngcobo municipality also a beneficiary.

The announcement was made during a Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) council meeting on Wednesday. Correspondence by the department to CHDM municipal manager Mpilo Mbambisa in June stated that the allocation would assist in the eradication of rural sanitation backlogs with focus on existing households without access to sanitation and water.

About 3 000 households in the Lukhanji area are to benefit from the allocation in the current financial year while 7 500 have been identified the for the 2011/12 financial year allocation.

Grant requirements include that municipalities have to be ready to implement and have to possess the necessary capacity to ensure that the funding is spent during the allocated financial year. The funds are not transferrable to the municipality but accessed by invoicing the department based on the work done and progress on site. "The grant is meant for households that do not have access to sanitation in rural areas and cannot be used to top us existing funding such as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant," the correspondence stated.

The benefitting municipalities have been asked to identify an area and appoint a service provider in discussion with the department.

 

The council meeting was told that CHDM had requested the Human Settlements Department to provide the authority with the criteria used in identifying municipalities eligible for funding and it was resolved that the district municipality should work with the two municipalities to identify the eligible areas

Source: Sikho Ntshobane, The Rep / Dispatch online, 6 August 2010

NETWAS UGANDA'S NEW CHAIR OF THE GOVERNANCE COUNCIL

MR PATRICK KAHANGIRE

UN Recognises Access to Clean Water as a Human Right

NEW YORK, New York, July 29, 2010 (ENS) - Access to clean, safe drinking water is now an official basic human right everywhere in the world, like the rights to life, health, food and adequate housing. The water rights resolution was approved late Wednesday by the United Nations General Assembly, not unanimously, but without opposition.

Safe and clean drinking water and sanitation
is a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights, the United Nations General Assembly declared Wednesday, voting to expand the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to include the right to clean water and sanitation.

The 192-member Assembly called on United Nations member states and international organizations to offer funding, technology and other resources to help poorer countries scale up their efforts to provide clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for everyone.

Introduced by Bolivia, the resolution received 122 votes in favor and zero votes against, while 41 countries abstained from voting.

The text of the resolution expresses deep concern that an estimated 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water and a total of more than 2.6 billion people, 40 percent of the global population, do not have access to basic sanitation. About 1.5 million children under the age of five die each year because of water-related and sanitation-related diseases.

Children draw water from a public well, Uganda, September 2009. (Photo by African Well Fund)

"Diarrhea is the second most important cause of the death of children below the age of five," said Pablo Solon, Bolivia's ambassador to the United Nations, introducing the resolution. "The lack of access to drinking water kills more children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined."

 

 

 

 

 

KAMPALA: Sanitation Status

Introduction

Sanitation provision in Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) is grossly deficient, as in most cities in sub-Saharan Africa: most people do not have access to a hygienic toilet; large amounts of faecal waste are discharged to the environment without adequate treatment; this is likely to have major impacts on infectious disease burden and quality of life (Hutton et al. 2007). This article briefly summarizes the current sanitation situation in Kampala.

Background Information

Kampala is an urban agglomeration with a population of about 1.9 million people (Brinkhoff 2010). It is located on hilly terrain at an altitude of about 1300 m above sea level, on the north shore of Lake Victoria. Climate is tropical wet and dry (Köppen classification Aw). Flooding is frequent and severe (World Bank 2007, New Vision 2010b). Pollutant industrial activities include food-processing and textiles. There is significant agricultural activity within the urban area (Maxwell 1994). A large proportion of the population (40−70% according to AfDB 2006) lives in low-income informal settlements.

 

 

Water resources and supply: overview

Kampala's formal water supply (production capacity currently 00,000 m3 per day) is drawn from Lake Victoria's Inner Murchison Bay (Water-technology.net 2010); note that the sewerage system discharges to the same water body (see below), in a situation similar to that seen in Harare. Collignon & Vézina (2000) report the following access data for 1999, based on unspecified UNDP data: in-plot piped supply 36% of households, piped supply from community standpipe 5% of households, non-piped supply or water vendors 59% of households. AfDB (2006) reports that only about 17% of the populations in informal settlements have safe water access.

Sanitation Access

The sewerage system serves less than 10% of the population; other wealthy and middle-income households use septic tanks. AfDB (2006) describes sanitation conditions in informal settlements as appalling: "Land-tenure system and inappropriate technologies have led to the construction of very poor latrines (or no latrines at all)". UN-Habitat (2006) reports access data for two informal settlements (Kivulu in Kagubube Parish and Kinataka in Mbuya I Parish): over 90% of people use unimproved pit latrines, and some residents resort to open defecation and plastic bags. Some informal settlements are also reported to be contaminated by the outflow from the communal septic tanks of large buildings, notably student hostels (AfDB 2006). Public toilets are also reported to be fairly widespread (WUP 2001, UN-Habitat 2006). Cholera outbreaks occur regularly (AfDB 2006, Cholera outbreaks occur regularly (AfDB 2006, New Vision 2010a). widespread (WUP 2001, UN-Habitat 2006). Cholera outbreaks occur regularly (AfDB 2006, New Vision 2010a).

Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)

The existing sewage treatment plant at Bugolobi discharges via a canal (the Navikubo Channel) to Lake Victoria's Inner Murchison Bay. It is reported to have insufficient capacity and to be functioning very poorly (AfDB 2008c). The ongoing AfDB Kampala Sanitation Program (see below) aims to decommission the Bugolobi plant and construct a major new UASB plant in the Navikubo wetland area, another plant in the Kinawataka wetland area, and two sludge treatment plants in the Lubigi and Nakulongo wetland areas.   

Sanitation in low-income districts

We are not aware of any detailed mapping of high-sanitation-need districts, or of any specific policy for sanitation improvement in informal settlements. However, AfDB (2006) provides a list of 10 parishes with most pressing water and sanitation requirements: in declining order of priority, these are Kisenyi II (Central Division), Ndeeba (Rubaga Division), Kagugube (Central Division), Kasubi (Rubaga Division), Katwe I (Makindye Division), Mbuya I (Nakawa Division), Nateete (Rubaga Division), Kanyana (Kawempe Division), Kyebando (Kawempe Division) and Bukesa (Central Division). Other informal settlements mentioned in this report (in some cases possibly sub-districts of the districts) already listed are Kivulu, Bwaise, Katwe-Kinyoro, Mulago, Kibuli, Naguru Godown, Soweto, Kitintale, Kalerwe, Kamwokya-Kifumbira, Nakulabye-Kiwuunya, Katanga, Namuwongo-Kikube Mutwe and Wabigalo. At least some of these settlements occupy low-lying swampy areas, and suffer regular flooding (AfDB 2006; see also Nuguwaba 2003). A specific situation analysis of two informal settlements (Kivulu in Kagubube Parish and Kinataka in Mbuya I Parish) is given by UN-Habitat (2006): this includes detailed information on the sanitation situation in these settlements.

Responsibility

There is no integrated responsibility for sewerage and onsite sanitation: sewerage and sewage treatment are the responsibility of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), while onsite sanitation (including faecal sludge management) is the responsibility of Kampala City Council (AfDB 2006). The World Bank (2008), in specific reference to water supply, notes that Uganda's National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has a social mission to serve the poor, and that "NWSC has made efforts to connect and serve the poor more effectively (e.g. establishing the Urban Pro-Poor Branch, soliciting pro-poor donor programs) and currently serves about half of the poorest residents of Greater Kampala. But NWSC does not have strong financial incentives to build new connections for Kampala's growing poorest residents without external funding. Firstly, many of these consumers buy water from NWSC at the social "tariff" which only covers O&M costs (both PWPs as well as yard taps shared by multiple families qualify for this lower tariff). Secondly, the amount of water consumed per capita by the poor is very low. Thirdly, because the poor have less consistent payment behaviour, this would require additional cost to maintain NWSC's strong collections record (e.g. investment in pre-payment meters)".

Sanitation Master Plan?

A Kampala Sanitation Master Plan has reportedly been written (AfDB 2006), but we have not been able to obtain a copy of this document. As noted above, the government has also produced a document entitled "Pro-poor strategy for the water and sanitation sector" (DWD 2006); however, this document does not offer detailed strategies, and makes little specific commitment to improving sanitation services in informal settlements.

Sanitation financing

No specific information at present, though information is probably available. [For comments on the challenges of financing water supply for the poor, see "Responsibility" above.

Major investments and donor interventions

Kampala is currently receiving major water and sanitation funding from donors including the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Union.

The AfDB's "Kampala Sanitation Program", approved in December 2008 and due to start in February 2010, is a major US$ 55m project reportedly focusing on improving sanitation in informal settlements. However, it remains unclear whether the project will have genuine pro-poor impact. The project webpage (AfDB 2008a) states that the project will involve rehabilitation and extension of Kampala's sewerage system, construction of major new wastewater treatment facilities (including biogas generation), and parallel improvement of faecal sludge management in informal settlements; sewerage coverage will be increased from about 7% of the population to about 30%, mainly by increasing access of "the urban poor population, living in the informal settlements". The only published documents currently available are a procurement notice (AfDB 2008b) and an environmental and social impact analysis (AfDB 2008c); both documents are discouraging in that they discuss only the major sewerage infrastructure, and make no mention of the putative pro-poor interventions in informal settlements.  Indeed, AfDB (2008c) states that the project's main aim is to improve water quality in Lake Victoria's Inner Murchison Bay. It would be of great interest to obtain independent assessments of whether this major project is indeed serving informal settlements, whether through sewerage connection or through significant and effective investment in onsite sanitation and associated desludging infrastructure and services.

The AfDB's "Implementation of an Integrated Project of Water & Sanitation Services for the Urban Poor in Kagugube Parish, Kampala" project was approved in December 2006 (AfDB 2006), reportedly started December 2007, and is reportedly ongoing.  This is a 760,000€ project involving provision of piped water supply (communal standpipes) and subsidized on-site sanitation (at least 500, including at least 250 dry toilets) in four informal settlements (Kivulu 1, Kivulu 2, Kagubube and Kitamanyangamba) in Kagubube Parish. We do not currently have independent information on the progress of this project; it would certainly be of interest to have information on whether dry toilets have been used effectively.

The World Bank's "OBA in Kampala - Water Connections for the Poor" project, approved May 2008 and nominally due to finalize in December 2011, aims to provide piped water supply (not sanitation) to  

The World Bank's "Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project", approved in November 2007 and nominally due to finalize in December 2010, has no sanitation component but has reportedly allocated US$ 8.5m to storm water drainage, in view of Kampala's severe flooding problems. We do not know to what extent this project will reduce flooding in low-income settlements.

Sources and further reading

Extensive documentation, particularly related to utilities management and issues such as tariffing, is available from RUWAS (Reform of the Urban Water and Sanitation Programme): http://www.ruwas.co.ug/ppp.html

National Water and Sewerage Corporation: http://www.nwsc.co.ug/

Kampala City Council does not currently have an active website.

References

AfDB (2000) Project Performance Evaluation Report: Uganda - Five urban centres water supply and sewerage rehabilitation project. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Evaluation-Reports/05188234-EN-UGANDA-5-URBAN-CENTERS-WATER-SUPPLY-AND-SEWE.PDF

AfDB (2006) Appraisal Report: Implementation of an Integrated Project of Water & Sanitation Services for the Urban Poor in Kagugube Parish, Kampala. http://www.africanwaterfacility.org/fileadmin/uploads/awf/projects-activities/APPRAISAL%20NWSC%2021.DEC.2006_0.PDF

AfDB (2008a) Kampala Sanitation Program. http://www.afdb.org/en/projects-operations/project-portfolio/project/p-ug-e00-008/

AfDB (2008b) Kampala Sanitation Program: General Procurement Notice.  http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-related-Procurement/30774546-EN-GPNUGANDASANITATION-12.PDF

AfDB (2008c) Uganda - Kampala Sanitation Programme: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.  http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/ADF-BD-IF-2008-144-EN-UGANDA-ESIA-KAMPALA-SANITATION-PROGRAMME.PDF

Brinkhoff T (2010) City Population. http://www.citypopulation.de

Collignon B & Vézina M (2000) Independent water and sanitation providers in African cities. WSP. http://www.partnershipsforwater.net/psp/tc/TC_Tools/010B_Indep%20providers%20Africa.pdf

DWD [Directorate of Water Development] (2006) Pro-poor strategy for the water and sanitation sector. http://www.ruwas.co.ug/reports/Pro-poor%20Strategy.pdf

Hutton G, Haller L & Bartram J (2007) Economic and health effects of increasing coverage of low cost household drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to countries off-track to meet MDG target 10. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. http://www.irc.nl/page/38443

Kulabako NR, Nalubega M & Thunvik R (2007) Study of the impact of land use and hydrogeological settings on the shallow groundwater quality in a peri-urban area of Kampala, Uganda. Science of The Total Environment 381(1-3): 180-199. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.03.035. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V78-4NT57J3-1&_user=121707&_coverDate=08%2F01%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1350225563&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000009958&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=121707&md5=0e76ea2f7c0b55c7afece53d2a90ac1d

Maxwell D (1994) Internal struggles over resources, external struggles for survival: urban women and subsistence household production. Urban Agriculture Notes. http://www.cityfarmer.org/danmax.html

New Vision (2010a) "Water costs higher in Kampala slums". News report 8 April 2010.   http://washafrica.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/uganda-water-costs-higher-in-kampala-slums/

New Vision (2010b) "Floods hit Kampala City Suburbs". News report 9 May 2010. http://allafrica.com/stories/201005100171.html

Nuguwaba A (2003) urban poverty and environmental health: the case of Kampala City, Uganda. http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22Urban+poverty+and+environmental+health%3A+the+case+of+Kampala+City%2C+Uganda%22&btnG=Search+Books

UNEP/GRID-Arendal (2002) Water availability in Africa. UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library. http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/water_availability_in_africa.

UN-Habitat (2006) Situation Analysis of Informal Settlements in Kampala http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=2335

Water-technology.net (2010) Kampala Water Supply and Sanitation Expansion Programme, Uganda. Undated web report, consulted 27 May 2010. http://www.water-technology.net/projects/kampala/

World Bank (2007) Project Appraisal Document: Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project.  http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?menuPK=51447259&pagePK=51351007&piPK=64675967&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=51351213&theSitePK=40941&entityID=000310607_20071019094217&searchMenuPK=51351213&theSitePK=40941

World Bank (2008) Project Appraisal Document: OBA in Kampala - Water Connections for the Poor. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000334955_20090708041629

WUP [Water Utility Partnership] (2001) Public toilet operator, Kampala, Uganda. http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/waterandsanitation/resources/caseExamples/narrative-form.html

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Burkina Faso: Race to achieve goals on sanitation

August 3, 2010 · Leave a Comment

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

Ghana: Pupils taught to practice good hygiene

August 3, 2010 · Leave a Comment

A programme dubbed, "Wash United" aimed at promoting proper hygiene and sanitation practices in schools and communities has been introduced in the Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region.

The programme, which places emphasis on hand washing with soap before and after eating and after visiting the toilet, was  organised for 14 primary and Junior high schools in the district.

The Wash United programme also advised people not to defecate indiscriminately in schools and communities.

It was organised by the Foundation for Grassroots Initiatives in Africa (GrassRootsAfrica), a non governmental organisation working in the area of poverty reduction and attracted the chief and people of Kandiga.

Madam Vida Abaseka, Kessena Nankana West District Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), commended GrassRootsAfrica for complementing GHS in promoting good sanitation and hygiene and urged it to extend the programme to other schools and communities.

She entreated the school children and community members to practice good sanitation explaining that diseases such cholera, typhoid and malaria could be prevented if people adhered to good sanitation and hygiene.

Madam Abaseka appealed to chiefs, assembly members and opinion leaders to encourage communal activities on environmental cleanliness in their various communities.

She indicated that government was spending so much on health especially in procuring medicines and said if people learnt to practice good sanitation and hygiene it would reduce the burden on government.

Mr Gilbert Atanga, Project Coordinator of Wash United, appealed to stakeholders including district assemblies and the GHS to provide toilet and urinal facilities for schools in the district.

He said the programme used outdoor games and competitions to drum home the message on the need for good sanitation practices in homes and schools.

Source: Ghana News Agency (GNA), 29 July 2010