Over 572 million Africans don’t have proper sanitation!

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Yahna Dinwur and a boy washing their hands in front of the latrine at the local primary school, Warok, Plateau State, Nigeria, January 2006. Credit:WaterAid/ Suzanne Porter

Africa alone is home to over 572 million (equivalent to about four times Nigeria’s population) of the world’s 2.6 billion people without access to proper sanitation, a new report has suggested.

The figure, a compilation of the number of people in 36 off-track African countries listed as not having access to proper sanitation by 2010, according to the report, means that over half of Africa’s estimated one billion population from 53 countries, do not have access to appropriate sanitation.

The report, “Saving Lives”, which was launched by WaterAid, an international aid organisation last week as the prelude to a high level meeting on sanitation on water in Washington D.C., puts the total figure of Africa’s population in need of proper sanitation, at 572,091,000.

Furthermore, the total estimated population of the 36 countries is 784,565,246, meaning only about 212,474,246 have access to adequate and proper sanitation.

Topping the list of countries with large populations without access to basic dignifying sanitation is Nigeria, with 109,312,000 of its 154,729,000 population without access and thus only 45,417,000 having access.

Following on the heels of Nigeria is Ethiopia, with 65,530,000 of her population of 85,237,338 without proper sanitation, then DR Congo, which has 50,134,000 out of its 63,655,000 population being without the required sanitation access as at 2010.

Ghana’s situation is also very intriguing, as out of a total population of 23 million, the report indicates that 20,977,000 people were without proper sanitation by 2010, which means only 2,023,000 (two million) people have access to improved sanitation in the country.

Although the report does not state why the other African countries are not included, it has been gathered that a country like Liberia is missing because records are not available.

The entire list of off-track African countries in WaterAid’s report is as follows:

COUNTRY	PEOPLE WITHOUT SANITATION IN 2010	TOTAL POPULATION AS AT 2011
1.      Benin	7,699,000	8,439,000
2.      Botswana	763,000	1,839,833
3.      Burkina Faso	13,669,000	13,228,000
4.      Burundi	4,527,000	7,548,000
5.      Cameroon	9,995,000	17,795,000
6.      CAR	2,905,000	4,216,666
7.      Chad	9,768,000	10,146,000
8.      Comoros	470,000	798,000
9.      Cote d’Ivoire	15,001,000	17,654,843
10.  DR Congo	50,134,000	63,655,000
11.  Djibouti	444,000	496,374
12.  Ethiopia	65,530,000	85,237,338
13.  Ghana	20,977,000	23,000,000
14.  Guinea	8,185,000	9,402,000
15.  Kenya	27,549,000	34,707,817
16.  Madagascar	17,607,000	18,606,000
17.  Malawi	7,301,000	12,884,000
18.  Mali	11,988,000	13,518,000
19.  Mauritania	2,560,000	3,069,000
20.  Mauritius	143,000	1,219,220
21.  Morocco	9,585,000	33,757,175
22.  Mozambique	19,180,000	20,366,795
23.  Namibia	1,553,000	2,031,000
24.  Niger	14,116,000	13,957,000
25.  Nigeria	109,312,000	154,729,000
26.  Rwanda	4,781,000	7,600,000
27.  Senegal	5,968,000	11,658,000
28.  Sierra Leone	5,105,000	6,144,562
29.  South Africa	10,528,000	47,432,000
30.  Sudan	32,228,000	39,154,490
31.  Swaziland	510,000	1,032,000
32.  Tanzania	40,357,000	37,849,133
33.  Togo	5,244,000	6,100,000
34.  Uganda	22,060,000	27,616,000
35.  Zambia	6,806,000	14,668,000
36.  Zimbabwe	7,543,000	13,010,000

Eight off-track countries experience reversed gains in sanitation coverage

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Eight of 57 countries of the world that are considered off-track with respect to meeting their sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target, have also experienced reversed gains, according to a report released by WaterAid, an international aid agency with headquarters in the UK.

The report, “Saving Lives” which was released prior to the second Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) High Level Meeting (HLM) held in the United States of America, indicates that whereas most of the off-track countries made gains, though somewhat small in most instances, eight countries in particular, had their coverage depreciating in two decades, other than appreciating.

In a table depicting the various countries and their levels of coverage, the report listed Haiti as being the worse off, with an MDG gap of 48%, followed by Nigeria, Sudan and Djibouti, with 39%, 38% and 37% respectively.

The rest are Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, Russia and Nauru, with gaps of 31%, 29% and 18% apiece respectively.

Explaining the gap, and why there was a reversal in gains in the eight countries, the table shows that although Haiti had a national coverage of  26% in 1990, that had reduced to 17% by the next two decades in 2010, although it has an MDG target of 63% to attain by 2015. This indicates that as things stand now, the country will only be able to achieve 15% coverage in three years.

In her case, Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa with about 154 million people according to United Nations estimates, had its coverage of  37% in 1990 reduced to 31% twenty years later in 2010, although it has an MDG target of 69% to attain, which will only be 30% in 2015.

Sudan on the other hand, started off with 27% in 1990, but had it reduced to 26% in 2010 with a target of 64% staring it in the face and so will have to be content with 26% coverage by 2015.

Djibouti’s 66% in 1990 also dwindled to 50% in 20 years, although it has challenged itself to attain 83% coverage in 2015 and so will have to make do with 46% by the time of the target date.

Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe for its part had a coverage of  41% in 1990 reducing to 40% in 2010, and has a target of 71% to achieve by 2015, but which will not materialise with the current trend. This means coverage will be at 40% by 2015 according to the WaterAid report.

Papua New Guinea also had its 1990 coverage of 47% reducing to 45% by 2010 with a target of  74% hanging around its neck and so will have to be content with 45% by 2015.

For her part, Russia’s 1990 coverage of 74% plummeted to 70% by 2010, although it has a target of 87% to contend with and so will have to be satisfied with 69% by the time the MDG target date is up, while Nauru also had its 1990 achievement of 66% ever so slightly lowering to 65% by 2010, even though it has set a target of 83% to achieve.

65% will thus be its lucky number by 2015, the date set to attain 83% 12 years ago in 1990.

Ghana to commit specific budget line to sanitation and hygiene

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE


Barbara Frost with Mr Enoch Teye Mensah at the HLM
Credit: WaterAid/ Dermot Tatlow/ Panos Pictures

Ghana’s Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has stated in the aftermath of the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) High Level Meeting (HLM) held in Washington D.C. in the USA, that the government of Ghana, has decided to commit a specific budget line to sanitation and hygiene.
He indicated that Ghana took the decision alongside other participating developing countries at the just ended HLM, in order to improve on sanitation coverage in their various countries.
Speaking in an interview after the high level ministerial conference that attracted over 100 government officials from 50 countries, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo, who was one of three ministers representing Ghana, said: “For instance, one of the statements we made is for a specific budget line to be made available for sanitation and hygiene.”
“Hitherto it was about water and sanitation but there is now more emphasis to commit more resources to sanitation and hygiene. Once we are able to commit resources to sanitation and hygiene, I believe that these challenges that I am talking of will be addressed,” he added.
Ghana’s minister in charge of sanitation, also praised highly the HLM, saying it had brought about knowledge sharing amongst the various countries and officials that participated, as well as commitments from them to improve upon water and sanitation access in their countries.
Also commenting on the lack of adequate structures for Ghana’s water sector, Ghana’s Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, stated: “First of all, we haven’t put in enough money to develop the structures. If we develop the structures properly, it will be a win win situation. If you want to know the houses that have been built, you can then let us pay the property taxes and all the other taxes that you need to plough back into expanding your systems and making it work – So that is one of the problems – that we don’t put value into building the structures as we should.”
The third minister to represent Ghana was Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, who presented seven key commitments made by the Ghana Government with respect to sanitation and water to the august gathering, the first of which is to continue to prioritise sanitation and water at the highest political level.
For his part, Ghana’s former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who chaired the second HLM in his capacity as chair for the SWA Partnership, spoke of the significance of the partnership and the importance it holds for member governments.
“Government must use partnerships. We are here for sanitation and water for all partnership high level meeting. I believe all our governments should be active members of this partnership, so that where they lack adequate resources, partnerships like this one will help them mobilise internationally to help them top up on what they can provide locally,” he emphasised.
SWA’s second HLM was held at the World Bank’s premises in Washington D.C., United States of America on Friday, April 20, 2012, as part of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings and brings together governments, NGOs, the private sector and civil society.
The first meeting was held on April 23, 2010 at the same venue.

African Ministers pledge water and sanitation for over 90 million

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

The chairman of the SWA, His Excellency John Kufuour speaks to delegates from the podium at the Ministerial dialogue on sanitation and water.
Credit: WaterAid/ Dermot Tatlow/ Panos Pictures

African Ministers attending the second Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) High Level Meeting held in Washington D.C., USA, today, have made pledges which if delivered, would provide 91.1 million Africans with access to these essential life saving services across the continent.

The figures for increased access to water of 37.9 million people and sanitation of 53.1 million people (which adds up to 91.1 million, were calculated by WaterAid, an international development agency, at the conclusion of the High Level Meeting that brought together a hundred developing and donor country ministers and officials from over 50 countries.

According to WaterAid, these commitments if realised, mean that the Governments will need to strive over the next two years to increase access to water by 5% and sanitation by 7% in their countries.

Disclosing these in a press release, the international development agency, which is a partner of the SWA initiative, said it welcomed the pledges from the African Ministers.

Meanwhile, alongside the baseline pledges ‘to strive’ towards increasing access to water by 5% and sanitation by 7% made by all the developing country governments participating in the High Level Meeting, governments have also tabled their own country commitments as part of the meeting.

For example, in Uganda, the Government has committed to providing 4,800,000 of its citizens with improved sanitation and an additional 2,236,544 with access to safe drinking water, while in Zambia, amongst other commitments, the Government has pledged to make at least 1,000 rural wards open defecation free by 2014.

For its part, the Government of Burkina Faso says it is also committed to allocating at least 17.5 CFA billion annually ($35 million U.S.) to improving access to water and sanitation.

On the other hand, WaterAid 's discussion document, “Saving Lives”, shows that by meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on sanitation by 2015, the lives of over 280,000 children under the age of five would be saved in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

It indicates that at current rates of progress the continent is not expected to reach the sanitation MDG target until the year 2175, 160 years late.

Barbara Frost with Mr Enoch Teye Mensah. Credit: WaterAid/ Dermot Tatlow/ Panos Pictures

Sharing her thoughts on the pledges made by the African Ministers and the current state of sanitation and water on the continent, WaterAid’s Chief Executive, Barbara Frost stated: “A lack of safe sanitation and water and the diarrhoea it causes is the biggest killer of children in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Ministers in Africa are committed to do more to reach people with water and sanitation services, and their pledges to strive for increased access for over 90 million people are much welcomed. The key challenge now will be putting in place and delivering the national plans in a timely fashion to make these commitments a reality.”

She  also strongly welcomed the announcement from the UK Secretary of State for International Development, the Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell MP that the UK is doubling the number of people they intend to reach with water, improved hygiene and sanitation by 2015, from 30 million to at least 60 million people.

“We are delighted that the Coalition Government has committed to double the number of people it plans to reach from 30 to at least 60 million people who will benefit from water, improved hygiene and sanitation,” WaterAid’s Chief Executive said.

Barbara Frost added:“The Secretary of State has demonstrated not just through words but also in actions that the UK is truly leading the international community in tackling the water and sanitation crisis.  We call on the other donors and governments to follow the UK Government’s lead and redouble their efforts to achieve sanitation and water for all.”

A recent DFID review showed that water, sanitation and hygiene interventions are a highly cost effective way of improving the health, welfare and livelihoods of poor people living in developing countries and represent excellent value for money. However, until now these interventions attracted just 2% of the UK’s aid budget.

Meeting MDG 7: Botswana tops off-track African countries on course

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Shared toilets are not considered in sanitation coverage

Of the 35 countries completely off-track the sanitation ladder in Africa as far as meeting the MDG target is concerned, it is Botswana that has shown the greatest promise and commitment to reversing its fortunes.

According to a new report released Tuesday, April 17, 2012, with its current rate of progress, the East African country will only miss their MDG target of achieving 69% coverage of sanitation by 1%.

The new report by international aid agency, WaterAid, titled “Saving Lives” says Botswana is likely to achieve its target a year later, 2016, if the current rate is anything to go by, making it the first in Africa to come out of the sanitation doldrums.

For a country that had only a national coverage of 38% as at 1990, Botswana scaled up to 62% two decades later in 2010, with people without improved sanitation reduced to 763,000 that same year, and is projected to achieve 68% coverage in three years – 2015.

Botswana currently experiences 89 under-five sanitation-related deaths yearly, the lowest on the African continent, saves 14 under-five lives annually with its current rate of investment in the sector, and is projected to save two lives each year if it is able to meet its MDG target of 69%.

Second to Botswana is North African country Morocco, which the WaterAid report projects will achieve its MDG target of 77% three years late in 2018, at its current rate of investment and progress.

Also starting off in 1990 with a modest national coverage of 53%, Morocco was able to increase access to 70% in twenty years (2010) and it is projected will achieve a coverage of 74% by 2015, thus falling short of its target by 3%.

Further, while 9,585,000 of Morocco’s population were without improved sanitation in 2010, the “Saving Lives” report states the country currently experiences WASH-related under age five deaths of 2,567 annually, while 364 under-five deaths are saved each year as a result of current investments.

Should the country, which currently has an MDG gap of 2% achieve its target, the report envisages that 193 infant lives will be saved yearly.

South Africa is third with an MDG gap of 5% and has been able to up its coverage of 71% in 1990 to 79% in 2010 and has a target of 86% to achieve in the next three years.

The projection for South Africa is that by 2015 it would have only achieved 81% sanitation coverage, and will only achieve its target by 2026, eleven years later.

The report adduces further, that in 2010 as many as 10,528,000 of South Africa’s population was without improved sanitation, and that currently 5,538 under-five lives are lost annually through sanitation-related diseases.

The good news however, is that at the current rate of progress 527 under-five lives are saved yearly, while if the country meets its MDG target it will be saving 1,187 under-five lives yearly.

Rwanda comes fourth with an impressive performance, with an 8% MDG gap and forecasted to achieve its target of 68% by 2024. Currently with a national coverage of 55% attained in 2010, it is foreseen that Rwanda will only be able to achieve 60% by the set date of 2015 and presently experiences WASH-related infant deaths of 8,188 yearly.

The rest of African countries off-track as far as sanitation coverage is concerned, all have coverage gaps of over 10% and will averagely only achieve their set targets in 100 or more years.

African countries sharing the last rungs of the ladder are Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Djibouti, Guinea, Mali, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.

In 20 years (1990 – 2010) Ghana has only been able to up its national sanitation coverage by 7%, having moved from 7% to 14% and is envisioned to attain only 16% of its set target of 54% by 2015.

With an MDG gap of 38% the country currently experiences under-five sanitation-related deaths of 4,571 each year, with 20,977,000 (over twenty million) of its population without proper sanitation.

Further, while with the current levels of investment only 93 under-five infants are saved each year, it is projected that 2,006 can be saved if Ghana attains its MDG target by the year 2123.

Mass murder:1.4 million children die annually from poor sanitation, unsafe water

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

The entire world faces a very grim future, with its children being killed in hordes annually, as a result of increasingly poor and denigrating sanitation and the lack of access to good clean drinking water.

Currently globally, 1.4 million children die every year from preventable diarrhoea and poor sanitation-related diseases alone.

A new report released Tuesday April 17, 2012 by international aid agency WaterAid, headquartered in the United Kingdom, titled Saving Lives, says diarrhoea, which is caused by unsafe drinking water and a lack of quality sanitation, is the biggest killer of children under the age of five in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the second biggest killer of children worldwide.

According to the WaterAid report, “there are more people in the world today without sanitation than there were in 1990”, and “the poor quality of sanitation and lack of access to safe drinking water causes 1.4 million child deaths every year, due to diarrhoea, and that these deaths are preventable”.

Topping the list of 57 countries worldwide that are largely off track is India with 208,984 poor sanitation and water-related under five deaths, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo with 90,358 infant deaths and thus topping the list for Africa.

However, the WaterAid report offers a window of hope, by identifying by country how many children could be saved by getting back on track by the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) completion date.

First though, it states that the lives of 2.5 million people around the world would be saved every year, if every last person had access to safe water and adequate sanitation.

The Saving Lives report, also says that if governments meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to halve the proportion of their population without sanitation by 2015, the lives of 400,000 children under the age of five will be saved around the world – over 100,000 in Nigeria alone.

It reveals that in Nigeria alone, over 100,159 children under the age of five could be saved, in Ghana 2,006, while India could save the lives of over 66,000 children under the age of five. The reality on the ground however is that despite this glimmer of hope, the proportion of people in Nigeria with access to sanitation is actually falling and on current trends it may never reach this MDG, while in Ghana, the MDG target of 54% will be met by the year 2123, 108 years later and India will meet its MDG of 59 by 2041, 26 years too late.

The report also predicts that, at the current rate the global MDG on sanitation will not be met until 2026, 11 years late. It adds that in the Southern Asia region the target on sanitation won’t be reached until 2030, 15 years late, while in Sub-Saharan Africa it will not be until 2175, 160 years later.

The report has been released just three days ahead of the second ever High Level Meeting on water and sanitation incidentally going to be chaired by Ghana’s former President and 2011 Co-World Food Prize winner, H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor, who is Chairman for the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership, on the 20th of April in Washington DC, USA.

Ex-President J. A. Kufuor was appointed as the first high-level Chair of the Sanitation and Water for All partnership in New York, USA, on November 15, 2011 for a two-year term.

Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is the key global inter-governmental partnership of governments, donors, civil society organisations, development partners, water and sanitation agencies, which is working to increase funding, improve the efficiency of resource use and strengthen the evidence base for the water supply and sanitation sector.

The partnership convenes a biennial High Level Meeting to raise political awareness, supports countries in their efforts to develop action-oriented plans and works with UN-WATER and WHO to produce the Global Analysis and Assessment of Drinking Water and Sanitation (GLAAS) report. 

Reacting to the current sorry state of the world’s sanitation and its significance for the upcoming HLM, Barbara Frost, UK Chief Executive of WaterAid, said: “Governments could save the lives of 400,000 children by meeting their international commitment to invest in sanitation and to achieve this MDG.  If governments committed to universal access to safe water to drink and improved sanitation they could save 2.5 million lives every year.  It is unacceptable that 37% of the world’s population live without a toilet. The need for action is overwhelming.”

“The Washington meeting is crucial to making real progress improving sanitation and water which are essential to saving children’s lives and to delivering social and economic development. Governments from both developing and donor countries must grasp this opportunity to act in response to the crisis of lost lives,” she added.

The Sanitation and Water for All meeting in Washington on 20^th April will bring together 100 ministers and delegates from over 50 countries to discuss the water and sanitation crisis. Participating governments are expected to bring pledges to the table on increasing access to water and sanitation for the next two years, while donor governments also have to provide commitments ahead of the meeting.

The meeting is part of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings and brings together governments, NGOs, the private sector and civil society.

Ministers, Senior UN and International Officials call for ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ in Africa by 2030

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Environment Ministers of three nations, senior United Nations and international officers, have urged all stakeholders across Africa to make commitments, as part of the Action Agenda, on how to achieve sustainable energy for all by 2030.

The ministers made the call at an event marking the Africa rollout of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya on February 22, 2012.

Making her submission, H. E. Ms. Terezya Luoga Hovisa, Minister of State, Ministry for Environment, Tanzania and Vice-President, the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) highlighted the enormous renewable energy potential ranging from solar, geothermal, hydro, wind and modern biomass that can be harnessed to achieve universal access to energy.

“I call upon all actors to work together to implement the commitments outlined in the 2011 Johannesburg Declaration of the Africa Energy Ministers Conference,” Hovisa said.

For his part, H.E. Erik Solheim, Minister of Environment and International Development, Norway, stated that “Private sector involvement is essential to create more growth and less poverty, contributing to the huge need for investments in Africa, adding, Norway’s Energy+ initiative intends to contribute to the implementation of Sustainable Energy for All.”

Speaking from the Brazilian experience with “Luz Para Todos,” H. E. Izabella Teixeira, Minister of Environment, Brazil, highlighted the importance of political involvement to trigger action by all stakeholders, emphasising the need to look at energy within the context of the food, water and energy nexus.

“Sustainable access and use of energy are part of the green economy,” Teixeira said, disclosing, “Energy will be at the centre of discussions at the upcoming Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.”

Also making inputs, Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Adnan Amin, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), emphasised the importance of energy for economic and social development across the continent, to improve the lives of the poorest in a more sustainable manner.

They opined that investments in clean energy allow countries in the region to harness substantial renewable energy resource endowments and leapfrog to modern and efficient infrastructure development.

The two leaders referred to many examples that are implemented throughout the region already and that should be replicated and scaled up.

To that end, Steiner and Amin called attention to the Sustainable Energy for All initiative launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which is a unique partnership between business, government and civil society and designed to achieve sustainable energy for all by 2030.

The Secretary-General has three interlinked objectives for his initiative, which are: to ensure universal access to energy, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and double the share of renewables in the global energy mix, by 2030.

Steiner, who also serves as a UN Under-Secretary-General, called for implementation of the initiative’s “Framework for Action,” designed to guide the work of governments, the private sector and civil society, as they mobilise, facilitate, and monitor efforts to expand energy access, promote efficiency standards and policies, and strengthen investment in renewables.

Speaking about the Secretary-General’s initiative, Steiner said, “Engagement by the private sector is essential to boost economic growth and reduce poverty. It will help address the huge need for investments in Africa and mobilise the action necessary to provide universal access to modern energy services.”

Adnan Amin also spoke about the immense potential for significantly increasing investment in renewable energy based on establishing an enabling policy environment and enhanced capacity.

In this regard, Kenya is paving the way for other African nations with its pledge to be kerosene-free by 2018 and in its use of wind and geothermal energy to power municipalities.

However, because of the central role that energy plays in society, the UN Secretary-General has appointed a High-level Group of distinguished leaders from finance, government, the private sector and civil society, to drive action towards the complementary objectives of energy access, renewables and efficiency and Steiner and Amin are both members of this group.

Meanwhile, globally, one person in five lacks access to modern electricity, and nearly three billion people rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating.

Other leaders speaking in the rollout event for the 2012 UN International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, in addition to the leaders above, were: H. E. Dr. Elham Mahmood Ahmed Ibrahim (Mrs.), Commissioner, Infrastructure and Energy, African Union Commission; Ms Mariam Sow Soumare, Representing Dr Mayaki, CEO, New Partnership for Africa’s Development; Mr. Carlo van Wageningen, Chairman and spokesperson, Lake Turkana Wind Power and Mr. Negash Engedasew, Manager, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change, African Development Bank.