Sanitation and Hygiene in Africa: Where do we Stand?
Yolande Coombes2013
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Abstract
Ministers responsible for water in 41 African countries met in Abuja, Nigeria, in April 2002, and decided to form AMCOW to promote cooperation, security, socioeconomic development and poverty eradication through the management of water resources and the provision of water supply and sanitation services. Since its inception in 2002 the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) has strived to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation in order to halt and reverse the water crisis and sanitation problems in Africa. For sanitation, one of the key ways AMCOW has achieved this is through an 'AfricaSan dialogue', which since 2002 has become a movement for change and progress in sanitation and hygiene in Africa. Through the pan-Africa and regional AfricaSan conferences, AMCOW has been able to facilitate the sharing and adoption of best practices in sanitation service development, as well as rewarding success. The AMCOW AfricaSan Awards for sanitation and hygiene were formally launched during the 2nd AfricaSan Conference in 2008. The awards are dedicated to recognizing outstanding efforts and achievements in sanitation and hygiene in Africa which result in large-scale, sustainable behaviour changes and tangible impacts. Also in 2008, AMCOW led the development of the eThekwini commitments. A set of specific commitments, formed during the International Year of Sanitation to get Africa back on track to meet the MDGs. Since then, AMCOW has monitored progress towards these commitments, which is another key element of AMCOWs remit. The Third Africa Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene (AfricaSan 3) was held from July 19th-21st, 2011 in Kigali, Rwanda. The Government of Rwanda and AMCOW hosted the event which brought together nearly 900 participants from governments, multilateral agencies, development banks, local and international civil society organizations, youth groups, gender interest groups, utilities, local governments and universities from 67 countries. The conference featured a political dialogue amongst 23 Ministers responsible for sanitation and the launch of the UNSGAB 5-year Drive for Sustainable Sanitation in Africa. Ministers reviewed progress against the 2008 eThekwini AfricaSan declaration and produced a Kigali Ministerial Statement on Sanitation and Hygiene. Forums for leaders of utilities, local government and civil society also produced commitments to strengthen performance and impact. A rich array of technical sessions was organized on topics prioritized in country preparation meetings held in 37 African countries prior to the conference. AMCOW felt that documenting these technical papers would bring the knowledge to a wider audience and present a body of knowledge against which to measure progress in future AfricaSan events. This book presents in depth, much of the learning and knowledge generated at AfricaSan 3. It is a great pleasure to extend our thanks to the agencies (in particular WSP for organizing this publication) and to the individual authors for taking the time to develop their presentations into chapters. By taking stock of progress and identifying technical assistance that countries need, we have been able significantly to improve the sanitation status in Africa. There is a great deal still to do and this book testifies that whilst there is no room for complacency, there is much reason for optimism. We hope that this book will be a useful aid to countries in the final push towards achieving the eThekwini commitments and the Sanitation MDG.
Related papers
East Africa Practitioners Workshop on Pro Poor Urban Sanitation and Hygiene LAICO Umubano Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda, March 29 th -31 st 2011 PRO-POOR SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN EAST AFRICA: TURNING CHALLENGES TO OPPORTUNITIES
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This paper will contribute to both discussions at the March 2011 East Africa Practitioners Workshop and also provide a basis for further in-depth studies on policy, advocacy, and research on pro-poor sanitation and hygiene in urban East Africa. The information presented is a synthesis of literature. In East Africa, poverty remains one of the greatest challenges facing the people and their governments. From a water and sanitation perspective, commendable achievements for better health, water and sanitation have been realized. The public health situation in East Africa's urban poor is greatly compromised because of inadequate sanitation and hygiene. The institutional framework for addressing urban sanitation and hygiene does not work for the poor. Sanitary conditions are particularly poor in East Africa's slums, where a majority of residents resort to open spaces and pit latrines that are over-used and inadequately maintained. Conventional public finance in sanitation generally focuses on subsidies for household and public toilets and grants for urban sewerage and solid waste systems. Despite these challenges numerous opportunities can be discerned. These opportunities include advocacy, research, service delivery, and even programming interventions for civil society, the private sector, and the state(s). With an increasingly supportive political environment, all actors including the urban poor ought to pro-actively support participatory interventions. The other opportunities relate to pro-poor financing through loans or revolving funds managed through micro-finance institutions. Civil society could engage sanitation and hygiene for the urban poor and explore partnerships to support civil society participation in these crucial policy processes. While the discussion in this paper is not exhaustive or even fully representative of the current and complex sanitation and hygiene situation in urban East Africa, it shows glaring gaps for intervention. Table 2: Access to water and sanitation between 2000-2030 Country Water Coverage (%) Sanitation (%) Urban Rural Urban Rural Kenya 85 49 19 48 Uganda 90 60 29 34 Tanzania 81 46 31 34
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Water and sanitation is defined as the provision and maintenance of hygiene conditions through services such as garbage collection and waste water disposal (United Nations Development Program, 2006). Access to clean water and adequate sanitation has various challenges in parts of Africa and the Middle East. Due to the unavailability of clean water sources and poor sanitation, vulnerable inhabitants across Africa and the Middle East are threatened with the spread of water borne diseases among other challenges. Poor sanitation accounts for a major cause of diseases from which millions in low-income countries / communities suffer. The increased need for reclaimed water in arid and semi arid environments has encouraged the development of new wastewater reclamation technologies. No society can do without access to potable water and sanitation, hence it is essential to always think of ways of dealing with problems of poor water supply and sanitation. It is therefore, pertinent to develop strategies that will ensure access to potable water supply and sanitation services for sustainable clean environment. Water is life. Over 70% of the human body is made up of water. Water is also an integral part of our habitat and man’s immediate environment. On the other hand, cleanliness they say is next to Godliness. Cleanliness cannot be achieved without proper sanitation and sanitation is made possible through water supply and usage. Some of these problems were addressed during The African Academy of Sciences and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) recently organized Conference themed Water and Sanitation in Africa and the Middle East held from 28 to 29 October 2013 at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt.
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HAVE FIVE DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING RESEARCH IMPROVED SANITATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
In developed countries, public health engineering has been closely associated with extensions of life expectancy and declines in infant mortality well beyond the contributions of medicine. However, different approaches have had to be taken in poorer countries. This paper uses cases from South and Southern Africa to illustrate the challenges and the responses and to consider whether these reflect a formal 'development engineering' approach. While external agencies have actively promoted a variety of approaches, engineered interventions were most successful where they took account of social, economic and environmental contexts, reflected local preferences and were developed by, or in close coordination with, the operational institutions concerned.
Exploring the determinants of sanitation success in Sub-Saharan Africa
Water Research, 2016
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) missed the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) sanitation target by a wide margin. However, there are a few African countries which made remarkable progress towards achieving the sanitation target. While the general factors that influence sanitation success are widely known, some of the few studies that have investigated the SSA sanitation situation have arrived at different conclusions regarding the determinants of sanitation success. The objectives of this paper were to establish the key determinants of sanitation success in SSA countries and to classify the SSA countries based on factors associated with sanitation success. This was achieved by analysing data drawn from 46 SSA countries. An objective methodological approach, using regression and cluster analyses to reveal the underlying sanitation success factors, has been adopted. A total of 11 economic and socio-political independent variables were tested against the dependent variable; proportion of the 2015 population that has gained access to sanitation since 2000. Regression results showed consistent and robust association between sanitation success and education for the national, rural and socio-political samples (p values 0.018-0.038). These results suggest that the level of education contributed to sanitation success in SSA during the MDG period. For the urban sample, a negative association was demonstrated between sanitation success and access to improved water sources (p = 0.034). This implies that countries which made huge sanitation gains had low coverage of improved water sources. The results from cluster analysis showed that countries which achieved great sanitation success were characterized by the highest education levels, incomes, population densities, political stability and high proportions of urban population. The knowledge of the key determinants of sanitation success could help in the formulation and design of appropriate policies and interventions to improve sustainable sanitation access in the post-2015 development agenda.
Building links for improved sanitation in poor urban settlements: recommendations from research in Southern Africa
pubs.iied.org, 2004
It's widely acknowledged that a sanitary crisis exists in poor urban areas of the developing world. The health, wealth and livelihoods of huge numbers of people are at risk from diseases that are related to inadequate disposal of excreta, refuse and wastewater.
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All rights reserved 1 2 3 4 14 13 12 11 This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgement on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
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