FT3.05

Session FT 3.05

Water supply and sanitation for all

 

 

Convener

• African Development Bank

In Africa, it is estimated that at least 300 million people lack access to safe drinking water supply and 313 million people lack access to basic sanitation. This situation results in the death of thousands of lives per day due to preventable water borne diseases and causes suffering to millions due to illness, thwart progress towards gender equality, and impede economic development. The obstacles that have constrained progress in expanding access to safe water and basic sanitation services vary across communities, countries and regions, but a common set of political, financial, institutional and technical challenges confronts most of the African countries in their quest to expand water supply and sanitation services.

 

Lessons learned

 

1. Stakeholders collaboration is a key factor on the way forward to meet the MDGs;
2. Communities need to be involved in the development, as well as in the O&M  of sector activities in order to sustain services;
3. Governments need to do more to improve the enabling environment of the sector in order to accelerate an increase of water supply and basic sanitation coverage;
4. Donors coordination at country level is very vital for the success of MDG activities and Governments should be in the drivers seat to carry out the coordination.

 

Key messages

 

1. Lack of access for improved water supply and sanitation services is the source of many diseases, causes death, lowers human dignity, and thwarts progress.
2. Access to improved water supply and sanitation is also a key factor in the attainment of the MDGs.
3. Several countries in Africa are not on track to meet the MDG targets, as a result concerted efforts are required by all stakeholders.

 

Orientations for action

 

1. More resources should be made available to the Sector;
2. Governments need to do more to improve the enabling environment in order to facilitate increased investment in the sectorvin order to meet the MDG targets.
3. Coordination of stakeholders at all levels should be followed relentessly;
4. There should also be concerted effort to increase human resources capacity at central/Government, Local Government and Community levels.

 

Local Actions presented

 

Africa Development Bank’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative

African Development Bank

 

This is a major regional initiative on RWSS to meet the MDG targets. In response to the Africa Water Vision and the MDGs, the African Development Bank Group conceived the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI) in 2002 and officially launched it in July 2004 at the first AfDB Water Week, with the view to accelerating access to water supply and sanitation services in rural Africa where the majority of Africa’s populations live under conditions of extreme poverty.  The objective of the Initiative is to ensure that 80% of rural populations in Africa have access to water supply and sanitation by 2015. It is estimated that USD 14.2 billion (or USD 1.3 billion per annum) are required to achieve the rural water supply and sanitation MDGs in Africa.
RWSSI has already made significant achievements in terms of recognition, commitments received by both African and donors States, and programs launched and planned. The anticipated impact of RWSSI will include the following:
• Per capita water consumption figures will improve from less than 10 l/c/d to about 20 l/c/d;
• distances to water points will be reduced to less that 0.5 km and water collection times to about ½ an hour;
• the number of people per water point will be reduced to between 250 and 300;
• the number of broken down water points will be reduced by half (from about 30% to 15%);
• improve the health situation in rural areas of RMCs, reduce the incidence of water related diseases, and the associated mortality and morbidity;
• build capacity of central and local government institutions as well as communities and will contribute to enhancing the decentralization process
• improve poor school attendance and high school drop out rates for girls; and
• Improve the quality of life by decreasing healthcare costs and increasing the availability of more disposable income as well as create employment opportunities through water service providers.

 

 

Kiambiu Slum Water and Sanitation (KIWESA) Project, Nairobi, Kenya

Kiambiu Slum Community Based Organization (Kiambiu Usafi Group) in conjunction with Maji Na Ufanisi

 

As of 2006, over 50% of the people living in Nairobi (capital city of Kenya) live in urban slums and peri-urban areas. This local action reviews the challenges and successes of the joint efforts of Kiambiu Slum Community Based Organization (Kiambiu Usafi Group) in conjunction with Maji Na Ufanisi, an NGO, in tackling the dire water and sanitation problems. As of 2005, this slum had a population of 15,000 within an area of 0.5km2 and the water and sanitation situation was characterised by 95% of residents use stand pipes for water supply, many water supply systems were old and unhygienic, more than 75% of residents lack proper sanitation systems, most toilets (which are of very low standards) are located close to the nearby Nairobi river thereby posing high potential for water pollution, the village also lacked social institutions/structures for education, family economy/industry, political, legal system, leadership and value systems, and more fundamentally, lack of secure land tenure, coupled with low community cohesion and increasing tribalism, poor performances of the economy, and lack of governance, have resulted in fear, victimization, suspicion, tension and violence in the lives of the residents of Kiambiu slum.

 

To deal with the severe water and sanitation needs, since 1998, Maji na Ufanisi in conjunction with Kiambiu Usafi Group have been implementing the KIWESA project. The project aims at assisting the community improve its water supply and sanitation situation and to secure the village for themselves by investing in permanent infrastructure. The project has been implemented in the following three phases. Initially, Kiambiu community was mobilized and organized through clean ups and clearing of garbage. This was followed by Participatory Urban Appraisal (PUA) workshops whereby the community identified lack/poor provision of toilet and water as the most pressing problem which needed to be immediately addressed. The community conceived the idea of forming a group which was subsequently named Kiambiu Usafi Group (literally translated ‘cleanliness group’). 3 modern sanitation blocks - (with showers, toilets and water storage tanks) have been strategically put up in Kiambiu slum by Kiambiu Usafi Group with financial and technical support from Maji Na Ufanisi. The Community also have prepared the design and the implementation plan for 24 cubicle sewered public toilets with water tank and kiosk, which they planned to run as a business. The community negotiated for spaces/plots, approvals, way-leaves and water and sewer license with the Nairobi City Council. They also negotiated for funding and technical support from Maji Na Ufanisi while at the same time; they raised some funds as their own contribution. The CBO has gained a lot of experience in the implementation of water and sanitation projects and the necessary management (staff, records and funds). Consolidation and formalization of the gained experience, norms, lessons in the management of community based structures as the community custodian of Water and Sanitation initiatives in Kiambiu slum village

 

Since it’s commissioning in September 2001, KIWESA project has facilitated the following developments:

• 20% of the residents are able to access clean affordable drinking water, toilet and bathroom services;
• consequently, the incidence of preventable diseases like cholera, typhoid and diarrhea, especially among the children, has reduced significantly;
• most of the poor quality toilets have been pulled down – voluntarily – by the Kiambiu slum dwellers who now prefer to use the modern toilet blocks that have been constructed.

Maji Na Ufanisi in conjunction with Kiambiu Usafi Group plans to work with the Community for the next 5 years. Between 2006/7, Maji Na Ufanisi plans to facilitate the construction of 16 new water kiosks in the village. Once done, this will reduce the distance to supply points to less than 40m.  It will also improve the number of persons served by one toilet block from the current ratio of 1:82 to 1:22.

 

Social Marketing a Household Water Treatment Product in Uganda

Procter & Gamble

 

Household water treatment product is utilized as a tool for social marketing to improve health and economic benefits to the population. Diarrheal disease is responsible for 20% of the morbidity and mortality in Uganda, with only 31% of the population having access to piped water. In order to provide a complementary and cost-effective option for piped treated drinking water, a nationwide social marketing program began in Uganda in November 2004. The product that is the focus of this program is PUR Purifier of Water, a coagulation/disinfection product, developed by P&G in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While provided at not-for-profit by P&G, the program provides for full-cost recovery of the product in order to be sustainable. Importantly, local merchants and NGOs sell the product for local income generation.
The nationwide social marketing program with PUR Purifier of Water in Uganda has provided more than 5 million liters of safe drinking water in its first year of implementation. Projections indicate that this will ramp up to more than 10 million liters by the second year and continue to grow.

 

The not-for-profit NGO, Population Services International (PSI) led 205 community based dramas and 17 large-scale events reaching more than 100,000 people who attended dramas and product demonstrations on the importance of household water treatment.  In addition, more than 600 nurses were trained as part of efforts by the International Council of Nurses in collaboration with two Ugandan nurses organizations, the Ugandan National Association of Nurses and Midwives and the Ugandan Professional Midwives Association.

 

Household water treatment has been shown to have a dramatic impact on diarrheal disease. Specific studies with PUR Purifier of Water conducted by the CDC have shown an average of 50% reduction in diarrheal illness, with the greatest benefit in children less than 5 years old. The collaboration with ICN involved both baseline and follow-up measurement of diarrheal rates in the orphanages in which PUR was provided. Based on this monitoring, in the first year months of implementation, UNANM concluded that 1,000 cases of diarrheal disease were averted in the children because of this program. In addition to the public or social health benefit, this program is adding positive economic and environmental value to the population by providing an important source of income to the local community groups selling the product, to the end-users who spend one-third less than the cost of charcoal to boil water, and to the environment because of less deforestation associated with boiling. This safe drinking water program has a number of stakeholders that were brought together through the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) International Network to Promote Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage. This Network provided a base for the global groups to connect and then Ugandan based groups and community-based groups have become involved in the program.