Botswana

EU finances water utilities

The European Union (EU), through Aquaplus Water Company from Belgium, has financed Water Utilities Corporation withP2.85 Botswana Pula million (R3.02 million) for wastewater management.

“This partnership has excellent prospects for success as the involved people and organisation are confronted with similar challenges daily, making them best positioned to organise transfer of knowledge and to benchmark for measurement of effectiveness,” said the head of the EU delegation, Gerard McGovern, during the signing of the EU and Botswana waste management agreement. McGovern added that through the launch of the project, aimed at building infrastructure for drinking and waste management systems, basic sanitation and hygiene, the intended mission will be achieved. “Because access to water and basic sanitation is one of the Millennium Development Goals and key prerequisite to combat diseases, child and maternal mortality, Botswana is entitled to that,” he said, adding that the initiative is currently taking place in over 30 countries.

Furthermore, McGoven indicated that since 2004 more than 32 million people in developing countries have gained access to improved water supply and 9.5 million sanitation facilities with the support of EU.

He said while it is important to support progress towards improved water and sanitation, it is also important to note that the project is a concrete outcome of the existing twinning between the city of Francistown and City of Genk in Belgium.

Source: The Botswana Gazette

 

Ethiopia

Bringing water and sanitation to Ethiopian children

Water and sanitation-related diseases, particularly diarrhea, are among the top three causes of death in Ethiopia.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability of water for hygiene and lack of access to sanitation contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrheal diseases, or more than 1.5 million of the 1.9 million children younger than five years of age who perish from diarrhea each year, mostly in developing countries.

This amounts to 18% of all the deaths of children under the age of five and means that more than 5 000 children are dying every day as a result of diarrheal diseases.

Health indicators show that Ethiopia has serious problems in primary health care and disease prevention. Very high infant and child mortality rates, a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and low life expectancy point to a lack of basic services and under-developed infrastructure. According to Demographic and Health Survey data for children under five in the Amhara region, 51.8% are malnourished; stunting affects 57%; and severe stunting affects 29%. In the Amhara region’s South Gondar zone, access to safe water is still not assured for many households and a lack of sanitation and poor hygiene practices contribute significantly to children’s ill health and constrained opportunities.

Johnson & Johnson is partnering with CARE to bring adequate latrines and hand washing stations to 48 schools in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Thirty new wells will be dug and 15 others will be rehabilitated. Eighteen schools will receive new latrines and hand washing stations and most others will see general improvements.

Teachers will be trained to integrate hygiene education into the daily life of their students by developing sanitation clubs that will use music and drama to bring the sanitation message to the broader community.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

 

Ghana

Poor sanitation costs country GHC 420 million annually

Ghana’s economy loses 420 million Ghanaian cedis each year (R1.8 billion) due to poor sanitation, according to a report released by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP).

The desk study, Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Africa – Ghana, found that the 74 % of these costs come from the annual premature death of 19 000 Ghanaians from diarrheal disease, including 5100 children under the age of five, nearly 90% of which is directly attributable to poor water, sanitation and hygiene.

Health-related costs accounted for nearly 19% of the total economic costs, while access time and productivity losses accounted for about 7%.

“We’ve known for some time about the impact of poor sanitation on health, but this is one of the first studies to quantify the annual costs incurred because of its prevalence,” says Yolande Coombes, senior water and sanitation specialist with WSP. Ghana will not be able to grow sustainably without addressing these costs.

The study also found that 4.8 million Ghanaians have no latrines at all and defecate in the open, and that the poorest quintile is 22 times more likely to practice open defection than the richest.

Source: Public Agenda (allAfrica)

 

South Africa

Cape’s dam levels a concern

The content levels of dams serving Cape Town are showing a worrying downward trend and experts have warned residents to take water saving seriously.

Forecasters say winter rainfall will be lower than normal or average this year. Peter Johnstone of the University of Cape Town’s Climate Systems Analysis Group says dams are at their lowest levels in the past five years.

“It doesn’t look like there will be lots of rain; it will be normal and below normal until the end of July. If we don’t get full dams this year, next year we will have even lower levels. With very little rain forecast for this winter, it appears likely that the situation will worsen next year,” Johnstone says.

This view has been echoed by local water specialist, Jeremy Taylor.

According to the city’s website, the six dams which feed the city are collectively 51.1% full. In 2008, the corresponding figure was 63.4%, 61.8% in 2009, 75.3% in 2010 and 51.5% last year.

Johnstone adds that he doesn’t want to cause alarm, but is cautioning residents to save water.

Taylor says there would be an early start to summer this year and a late start to winter in 2013.

“Restrictions should start now and the city should concentrate on demand-side management and hike tariffs,” he adds.

Anton Sparks, a consultant to the Department of Water Affairs and the city, says if dam levels continue to drop, there will have to be an intervention.

Peter Flower, city bulk water manager, adds that water is a scarce commodity throughout the province, but the authorities will only know at the end of October, after the rainy season, what the situation will be. Dam levels are normally lowest at this time of year and, even though average to below-average rainfall is expected this winter, Capetonians could manage by keeping consumption down, Flower adds.

Source: iol.co.za

 

Zimbabwe

Government crafts water policy

The government is crafting a national water policy in response to the fast deteriorating quality of surface and groundwater sources in the country, Water Resources Development and Management minister, Sipepa Nkomo, has disclosed.

The quality of water in Zimbabwe has been a critical issue in the face of the cholera outbreak that claimed more than 4 000 people countrywide in 2008 and the recent typhoid outbreak in Harare. The policy will address a wide range of issues from urban water supply and sewerage, to rural water supply and sanitation. It will also deal with the development and management of water resources for such uses as irrigation, hydropower generation, industrial and mining development, livestock, poultry and the environment.

“The quality of raw water in rivers, lakes, wetlands and groundwater as well as in the many dams and boreholes is fast deteriorating mainly because of a breakdown in wastewater treatment facilities,” says Nkomo.

He explains that the deteriorating quality has an effect on the water that is available for domestic use, agriculture, industry, mining and other activities such as fishing and tourism. Nkomo adds that poor quality of water has wide ranging impact on people’s health, environment, the livelihood and welfare of all Zimbabweans and the national economy.

“The causes of water pollution are varied and range from discharge of untreated or partially treated sewerage, industrial waste water, untreated mining waste water, to agro-chemicals from farming activities, toxic chemicals used in artisanal mining, wastes from poultry farms, abattoirs, and ranches.

“Urban run-off and landfills are other major causes of water pollution especially for rivers and groundwater close to urban centres and near solid waste landfills. The run-off carries with it exhaust fumes and particulates from all the vehicular emissions, solid wastes, garbage and human wastes from urban centres,” he concludes.

Source: The Herald