Africa: political stability and country leadership key to water and sanitation progress

Posted on October 3, 2011 

by dietvorst| Leave a comment

Political stability has heavily influenced progress in improving access to water supply and sanitation services with low-income stable countries outperforming low-income fragile and resource-rich countries.  ”This breaks with the common perception that access to sanitation and water increases with GDP”, says Senior Financial Specialist Dominick de Waal, lead author of a new report [1] by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP).

The report, commissioned by the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW),  maps progress  in water supply and sanitation of 32 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. WSP carried out the country studies together with the African Development Bank in close partnership with UNICEF, WHO, and the 32 governments.

A second key finding of the report is that a shift in aid modalities from donor-driven projects to country-led programmatic approaches, can potentially increase access to water and sanitation services for millions of people by 2015.

To accelerate progress, at least an additional US$ 6 billion a year of domestic and donor funds are needed, the report says.

[1] De Waal, D., Hirn, M., and Mason, N. (2011). Pathways to progress : transitioning to country-led service delivery pathways to meet Africa’s water supply and sanitation targets : AMCOW country status overviews regional synthesis report. Nairobi, Kenya, Water and Sanitation Program – African Region. Download synthesis report and country studies

Related news: Sanitation Status of African Cities, E-Source, 17 Dec 2010

Source: WSP, 22 Aug 2011

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This entry was posted in Tanzania, Senegal, Sudan, Financing, Zambia, Nigeria,Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Sanitation, Governance, Malawi,Kenya, Publications, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Madagascar, Côte d’Ivoire,Sierra Leone, Water supply, Congo, Mozambique, DR Congo, Policies & legislation, Rwanda, Angola, Scaling up, Gambia, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Benin,Burundi, Liberia, Mauritania, Sustainable services, Central African Republic,Togo and tagged AMCOW, Water and Sanitation Program, source_publish. Bookmark the permalink.

Uganda: Swarovski Water School’s Living Nile Project

Posted on July 15, 2009 

by dietvorst| Leave a comment

The Swarovski Water School’s Living Nile Project in Bwindi, Kanungu District, south-western Uganda, has introduced educational programmes on water management and sanitation in 20 local schools. The 2009 project updatementions that school latrines and piped water supply systems are being installed.

Another project activity is the support being provided to the Bwindi Community Hospital: this includes the construction of a water treatment plant and sanitation facilities, improvements to the operating theatre and the donation of new surgical instruments.

The Swarovski Water School is a corporate social responsibility initiative of the Swarovski company, famous for its crystal glass products. The school based in Austria teaches young children between the ages of 8 and 13 the importance of sustainable water use.

New web resource on rural water supply highlights Ghana and Uganda – www.waterservicesthatlast.org

Posted on October 20, 2011 

by dietvorst| Leave a comment

One out of three rural water supply systems in developing countries doesn’t function at all or performs far below its promised level. IRC’s Triple-S (Sustainable Services at Scale) initiative has put together a web resource to help those involved in financing, planning or implementing rural water supply projects or providing services. The website brings together the latest thinking on creating water services that last, including results from Triple-S work in Ghana and Uganda. It covers key elements such as monitoring, financial planning, institutional models, and capacity building for service providers and local government. Here you’ll find tools, concepts, case studies, videos, cartoons, and more.

Web site: www.waterservicesthatlast.org

Arua hospital faces closure over toilets

Daily MONITOR NOVEMBER 1 ,2011

Gulu Regional Referral Hospital is facing a shortage of houses for health workers and their families. Many of the available houses are single rooms which cannot accommodate families of the health workers. This has forced many of them to build makeshift structures like the one below to accommodate their families. PHOTO BY CISSY MAKUMBI 

By FELIX WAROM OKELLO   (email the author) 

Posted  Tuesday, November 1  2011 at  00:00

Arua Regional Referral Hospital and police headquarters face closure over poor hygiene due to filled up pit-latrines.

Both government institutions have received warning letters from the municipal health department, directing them to immediately find solutions to the problem, especially the inadequate provision of toilets, which now puts thousands of lives at risk in case of an outbreak of epidemic.

The municipal health officer, Dr Paul Onzubo, said over the weekend: “We may close Arua Hospital and the Central Police Station until those nuisances are addressed. The one for the police is actually worse. Besides we are acting within the law.” 
The two institutions have few pit latrines which are poorly maintained.

The Hospital Director, Dr Bernard Odu, said: “Whereas the municipal council is saying they will close the hospital, they are actually doing their work. But I am frustrated by the finance and other factors like the lagoon that has been blocked by the neighboring communities,” he said.

The hospital that has close to 500 in-patients, has only seven pit-latrines with some already filled up.

“We will need over Shs10 million after every two months to construct new VIP latrines which money we do not have. But we are all interested in seeing that we have a clean environment and municipality,” Dr Odu said.

A patient attendant, Ms Celina Draru, said: “People queue for toilets and to make matters worse, it is even filled up so during rain, you find maggots all over the floor.”

The situation has been compounded by a court injunction secured by people living near the hospital, blocking the construction of a sewage lagoon. The residents claim the lagoon could pose a health risk to them.

wokello@ug.nationmedia.com