Provision of safe water, sanitation still a critical challenge for Africa

By John Kasozi ON March 23,2011 the World marked Water Day

Yesterday the world marked Water Day yesterday. However, the provision of safe water and basic sanitation to the urban poor is still a big challenge for most governments in Africa.

This year’s theme, ‘Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge’, aims at encouraging governments, organisations, communities and individuals to actively manage the provision of urban water.

Water, good sanitation and hygiene are vital components of sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty.

“Sustainable urban development begins with health and dignity. These fundamental conditions of our humanity can only be met with sustained investment in water and sanitation,” says Joan Clos, undersecretary-general of the United Nations, Executive Director, UN HABITAT.

Children drawing water from a borehole built by World Vision at Namakokolo

Half of the world’s population of 3.3 billion people today lives in towns and cities. That figure is projected to reach two-thirds in little over a generation from now. And half of that increase will be in the slums and squatter settlements of towns and cities in developing countries.

Today 71.9% of urban Africans live in slums, 46% in Asia and a little over 30% in Latin America and the Caribbean. Clos notes that in slums and townships, the provision of safe water and basic sanitation to the urban poor is a critical challenge facing the world today.

“We need more than ever before, concerted action by the international community to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to water and sanitation,” Clos adds.

He says that after all, safe drinking water and basic sanitation must be placed at the very top of the poverty eradication and the sustainable development agendas.

The poor cities receive the worst services, paying up to 50 times more per litre of water than their richer neighbours because they usually have to buy it from private vendors.

With only five years to the MDGs deadline, managing water and sanitation in the rapidly growing African cities and towns, is an urgent priority for the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). Most African countries are still lagging behind in meeting the millennium targets.

The water day celebrations were hosted in Cape Town, South Africa. The event was a joint collaboration of UN-Water, AMCOW, the United Nations Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

Observance of the day was an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The United Nations General Assembly designated March 22 of each year as the World Day for Water. It has been observed since 1993.

In Uganda, the government in November last year, launched the Water and Sanitation Development Facility (WSDF). The facility is a mechanism for funding water and sanitation investments in small towns and rural growth centres in 25 districts. These are Hoima, Buliisa, Masindi, Nakasongola, Nakaseke, Kiboga, Kibaale, Luwero, Mityana and Masaka.

Others are Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Buikwe, Kayunga, Kalangala, Wakiso, Buvuma, Gomba, Kiryandongo, Kyankwanzi, Butambala, Bukomansimbi, Kalungu and Lwengo.

Turn to Page 31 The major objective of the facility is to improve the socio-economic situation for people living in small towns and rural growth centres through provision of safe, adequate, reliable and accessible water supply.

Substantial investments have been made in the last decade, to provide rural and urban water as well as sanitation services.

In 1999 a National Water Policy was formulated. A comprehensive water strategy was also developed after studies were done on rural water supply and sanitation; urban water supply and sanitation; water for production and water resources management.

Uganda now has a Water Supply Atlas, 2010 which provides information on water supply coverage, functionality and distribution to stakeholders.

According to the atlas, Kampala is the largest Area of the National Water and Sewerage Corporations operations and accounts for 65 % of its revenue. The area about 1,357,450 people or 85 % of the urban population in Kampala and also 142,360 people in Mukono Town Council and Kira subcounty in Wakiso district.