Why write about water and sanitation in Africa?

 

Did you know that every day nearly 1000 children die due to preventable water and sanitation related diarrheal diseases? Or that 2 in 5 people don’t have access to a basic hand washing facility (with soap and water)?

Welcome to the WASH web, where over the following weeks I will be exploring some of the key issues related to water and sanitation in Africa. Including access to ‘improved’ water, toilets and handwashing and women and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

Globally there is an unequal distribution in the deaths attributed to unsafe water. Figure 1 shows that Sub-Saharan Africa has much higher death rates than other regions – with some countries, such as Chad having over 100 deaths per 100,000 people. Therefore, improving water and sanitation in Africa is critical if SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) is to be met by 2030.

        Figure 1: Map to show global distribution in death rates from unsafe water sources, 2019

 

My interest in water and sanitation came from my travels this summer in Fiji. I was living in remote villages, experiencing first-hand their water and sanitation systems. Doesn’t the idea of drinking Fiji Water, the ‘earths finest water’, that evokes purity, straight from the source sound amazing? So, I thought, until becoming unwell, from presumably a water borne illness. I hadn’t considered the realities of water supply in rural areas of the island, which made me begin to rethink what water I was drinking.

 

                                                    Figure 2: Fiji Water Advertisement

Despite there being reported 96% of access to improved drinking water in Fiji (defined as being protected from contamination – mainly faecal), in reality this is often different. In one study, E coli was detected in multiple sources across communities in Naviti island. Typhoid and leptospirosis are also a concern in Fiji, where sanitation can be poor and flooding can spread contaminated water.

My time spent on a small island just off the mainland in Fiji brought water availability to my attention. Low-lying islands often rely on groundwater and rainwater harvesting, where surface water availability is low. In response to low water supply, this island implemented ecological sanitation. These are toilets that require no water and turn waste into compost, reducing health risks associated with contaminated water and waste and lowering water demand.

I am interested to see if these topics and issues from my travels can translate into the African context; one that I am unfamiliar with. During my blogs, I will critically engage with reports, such as those produced by NGOs, and find case studies on the ground that may shed light on realties – see my next blog for more. I also recognise my positionality and that I am not trying to become a white saviour, but to understand lived experiences of water and sanitation in Africa. As Wainaina’s article points out, Africa is not one homogenous area, so I will strive to not use oversimplified terms and I will recognise the variations within and between countries and their people.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Women and WASH in Nairobi, Kenya

Image
  In my last blog, I looked at some realities in the WASH sector, one of which is the experience of women and girls. The importance of this is recognised in SDG 6.2 , which is to ‘achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all … paying special attention to the needs of women and girls’. This blog will look at the experiences of women and girls in the WASH sector, focusing on informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.   Inadequate sanitation results in various health, economic and social impacts that disproportionality affect women and girls, especially in informal settlements . Impacts on women reported in Mathare, an informal settlement in Nairobi, include violence ( 68% of women reported ), respiratory illness (46% reported) and diarrhea (30% reported). Illness increases economic burdens which mostly affect women, as they have to miss work to care for the sick. Women and girls have specific hygiene needs, such as menstruation, requiring adequate sanit...
Read more

The realities of WASH in Africa

Image
  Following on from my last blog, where I mentioned the dichotomy between reports and realities of the quality of water and sanitation, this blog will be looking at the realities on the ground; faecal contamination of water, differentiation in supply and data inadequacies. Only 8 years until the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are due to be achieved, and there is still major progress to be made. Especially in terms of water and sanitation, addressed by SDG6 .  In Africa in 2020 , only 39% of people used safely managed drinking water and 27% used safely managed sanitation. Therefore, in order to meet the SDGs by 2030, there needs to be 12 times increase in the rate of progress on safely managed drinking water and 20 times increase for safely managed sanitation! Africa, particularly Sub-Sahara Africa, needs to be at the forefront of improving water and sanitation systems, as these regions currently face the least delivery, shown by Figure 1.   Figure 1: Percenta...
Read more

Menstruation - a hope for the future?

Image
My last blog looked at Women and the WASH sector, and this blog will follow on, by focusing on one aspect – menstruation – offering some hope for the future by tackling period poverty. Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) can prove challenging for women and girls in low-income countries, where there is a lack of money and access to menstrual hygiene products (MHPs) as well as inadequate sanitation conditions to deal with their menses. Menstruation is a private matter that is rendered public, and hence there is a taboo that comes with it. This provides challenges for talking about it, and implementing change. Improving MHM starts with safe access to water and sanitation systems . Adequate MHM at school for girls can reduce absence, increase concentration in class and lead to better life outcomes for themselves . Without this, girls worry over public bleeding, having a private place to manage their menses and having a place to dispose of MHPs (as described by one girl ‘ where will we d...
Read more