The water supply and sanitation coverage in Africa is very poor. Recent data show that only 58 per cent of the Sub- Saharan African populations have access to sufficient and safe water. The average drinking water coverage is 82 per cent in the cities and only 45 per cent in the rural areas.
Only 36 per cent of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to water sanitation facilities and services. Rural areas, where more than 70 per cent of the population of this region dwell, are the most affected as they virtually have no access to these facilities and services. In fact, only 26 per cent of the populations in the rural Africa have access to sanitation facilities and services, which compares poorly with the 55 per cent coverage recorded in the cities.
Moreover, the existing water supply and sanitation facilities are very inadequate and so are related services. In many cases, the water supplied through these facilities is highly polluted with harmful bacteria and parasites. The capacity to plan, design, build, operate and maintain water and sanitation facilities and services, particularly in rural Africa, is just too poor to be meaningful.
A significant proportion of the continent’s rural population resorts to open defecation and other unhygienic practices of excreta disposal. This and the lack of knowledge and awareness regarding hygiene and health issues have generally exposed Sub-Saharan African population to various water and sanitation related diseases. Around 65 per cent of the diseases in Sub-Saharan African are water-borne. One out of every eight children dies before the age of five from water-borne illnesses.
Certainly, safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene practices are basic requirements for good health, reduced morbidity and mortality rates particularly among children. Studies show that 51 per cent reduction in diarrhea cases can be achieved through access and use of proper latrines, 15 per cent through use of clean water, 35 per cent though proper sanitation and 32 per cent through the practice of hand washing.
In rural Sub-Saharan Africa where meeting these requirements is generally a rare event, good health is an illusion in most cases. What good health is there in the Ethiopia’s rural areas where only about 9 per cent of the populations have access to latrines?
What is more, the vast majority of the African population depends on traditional sources of water such as rivers, springs and wells. The duty of fetching water from these sources, particularly in the rural areas, falls on women and young girls who, instead of going to school, hike for hours each day just to fetch a few pails of water for their households. Children are left alone to fend for themselves while their mothers walk 3, 4, even 6 miles to the nearest water source. In some areas, it takes an about 12 hours a day to fetch water in dry seasons. There is no rest for these girls and mothers: they must repeat the exhausting task day after day. The most devastating side of the whole situation is that Africa has a very huge potential for all-purpose water development and yet water shortage prevails in rural areas and means poor or no enrollment of girls to go to school. A shocking example in this context is that of Ethiopia which is known and referred to as the ‘Water Tower of Africa’ and yet has water supply coverage of about 24 per cent. Ethiopia, by far, has greater potential for the development of huge agricultural industry, extensive dairy farming, and cheap hydro-electrical energy than any African country. Compared to Egypt or Sudan, Ethiopia’s river basins, rural farm land, and diverse eco-system is a marvel.
A long queue of women waiting to collect water in Ethiopia.
