Sanitation Updates

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) has invited public comment on the Strategic Framework on Water for Sustainable Development: Discussion document. The deadline for written comments is 30 May 2008.

Source: Participation Junction

The discussion document is quite frank about current failures/shortcomings in water and sanitation service delivery. Some quotes:

“When 77 WSA managers surveyed for the 2007 Masibambane II evaluation were asked whether those who were served would in future be rejoining the backlog queue as a result of defective infrastructure in recently completed projects, 51% said this was happening already. 16% of beneficiaries in settlements with recent water projects said they now had to walk more than 200 meters to fetch water”. [chap. 3.2.2, p. 17]

“A growing number of new flush toilets malfunction, particularly those built swiftly to meet bucket eradication targets. The number of sewage spills from overloaded systems is rising steadily. Some houses have two new VIP toilets, built by parallel programmes. Many VIPs are built badly, some are not being used at all, and unusable full pits means people are reverting to unimproved toilets or open defecation, with little net gain in health or hygiene behaviour”. [chap. 6.3.5, p. 41].

Daily Trust (Abuja), Posted to the web 25 April 2008, Abdul Hassan

As health experts explore how to make the Nigerian society healthy, one worrisome impediment is the common act of open defecation.

The practice, hitherto restricted to the rural areas, is now a common sight in the urban centres. In Abuja, the nation’s capital for instance, it is not unusual to see adults stooping by the roadside and passing excreta, oblivious of motorists and passersby. (…)

Read all:   AllAfrica.com    and Daily Trust

Angola Press Agency (Luanda), posted to the web 24 April 2008

A memorandum of understanding in the area of basic environmental sanitation was signed Wednesday, in Luanda’s Talatona Conventions Centre, in Luanda, where the fourth conference of environment ministers of CPLP is taking place, between the Angolan Ministry of Urbanisation and Environment (Minua) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

(…)   It is also going to be developed integrated strategies of social marketing for environmental sanitation and hygiene promotion in partnership with local NGOs and support to the exchange of learning experiences.  (…)

Read all

LONDON, April 14

A British-based charity is calling on the Group of Eight summit in Japan later this year to agree to take a global action plan meant to improve water supply and sanitation. WaterAid believes the G-8 summit in Hokkaido in July is the ”last best shot” for raising the issue — which is often overlooked by the aid community, activists say.

The charity wants the G-8 major powers to include the plan in a joint declaration by their leaders, which would see a global taskforce set up to examine progress on sanitation and look at ways of overcoming regional failures.  

(…)     One tactic the group is using is to show how dramatic increases in the standards of public health across East Asia resulted from improved sanitation. On the action plan, Northover said he preferred countries to come up with plans outlining what they need to improve sanitation rather than having specific funding targets and just pumping money into nations from the center. According to the charity, it would cost an extra $10 billion each year until 2015 to reach the Millennium Development Goal. WaterAid is keen to see an increase in budgets to address this problem but the funding needs to be properly targeted.

Kyodo News, Japan

11 April 2008, Posted to the web 14 April 2008, Juliet Waiswa and Aidah Nanyonyo, Kampala

OVER 400 people die of diarrhoeal-related diseases each day in Uganda, the assistant commissioner in charge of environmental health, Paul Luyima has said. Luyima was opening a workshop to raise awareness on the need to intergrate sanitation issues in HIV/AIDS policies and programmes at Grand Imperial Hotel on Wednesday. He attributed the high diarrhoearl cases to improper sanitation and poor access to clean water. (…)

“Poor sanitation is a major burden to the country but can be improved if it is integrated in all Government programmes,” Luyima added. (…) He said unlike other health issues, sanitation is difficult to improve because it is related to behaviour change. “It is hard to change behaviuor,” he noted. (…)

Read more: New Vision (Kampala)  and AllAfrica.com

The executive director of the National Water Resources Board in Dumaguete City is calling on local chief executives to make sure that sanitation is observed in public facilities in their localities. Ramon Alikpala of the NWRB said public places such as city and municipal halls should have safe, clean water and soap in the public comfort rooms.

He said the province takes this issue more seriously and should be commended for trying to increase awareness of this problem that is plaguing the entire country. (…)

The Department of Interior and Local Government said almost 31 percent of the reported illnesses in the country from 1996-2000 were caused by unsafe water due to poor sanitation. Contaminated drinking water is one of the most prevalent causes of illnesses, and about 18 Filipinos die each day from water and sanitation-related causes, the DILG added.

Read all

Angola Press Agency (Luanda) 8 April 2008, Posted to the web 8 April 2008

Sumbe

The reduction of the impact of environmental degradation on health requires the reinforcement of the sanitary network, implementation of preventive measures and active participation of citizens in preservation programmes. This was said Monday in Sumbe, central kwanza Sul province, by the deputy Health minister, José Van-Dúnem. (…)

Read more

Tuesday, Apr 8, 2008

The federal government has been called upon to declare a state of emergency on environmental sanitation in the country. This is in view of the deteriorating sanitary standards of the country’s urban and rural areas and the glaring failure of curative health services. This is one of the recommendations contained in the communiqué issued at the end of the 41st Annual National Conference/Scientific Workshop of the Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN) at Yenagoa, Bayelsa State recently.  (…)

Read more

Industries in Peru will have to accommodate environmental standards for wastewater treatment set by developed countries, otherwise they cannot export their products, said José Salazar, president of Sunass, the national water authority. To comply with the free trade agreement with the USA, Peru also needs to raise industrial water use rates. A study on water rate revision must be ready by the end of 2008.

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 1 Apr 2008

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