WASH News Southern Africa
News feed maintained by information specialists from IRC and partners.
South Africa: clock ticks towards water scarcity
15 Jun 09
The clock is ticking for South Africa’s stretched water supply, and in another five years demand will have caught up with supply, according to a top official. Jones Mnisi, acting chief operating officer at Johannesburg Water, the public utility overseeing supply in the country’s economic hub, told a recent conference on water security that the [...]
Southern Africa: Policymakers should understand economic value of groundwater
11 Jun 09
Barbara Lopi from the SADC Groundwater and Drought Management Project says scientists in the southern African region must communicate to policy and decision-makers the economic value of using, developing and managing groundwater resources.Groundwater scientists in the southern African region have a major role to play to ensure that policy and decision makers especially in non-water sectors [...]
Angola: cholera cases slashed, WHO
09 Jun 09
Angola has slashed the incidence of cholera so far this year, despite major flooding that normally heightens the risk of the water-borne disease, World Health Organization data showed. In the first five months of 2008, the WHO detected 7,740 cases of cholera with 198 fatalities in Angola. But in the same period this year, the [...]
Madagascar: education hampered by lack of clean water
26 May 09
Because most schools in Madagascar have no access to running water, lack of hygiene and sanitation have become a major problem for children. Many pupils fall sick regularly, are unable to attend classes and hence don’t perform well at school.Although government has promised to improve sanitation within its education system, programmes are yet to be [...]
Zimbabwe, Harare: water woes worsen
26 May 09
DESPITE the euphoria and optimism that followed the formation of the inclusive government, which has just gone past its first 100 days in office, service delivery remains woefully inadequate and a distant dream for a vast majority.Rosemary Motsi’s plight illustrates the dilemma of many Zimbabweans. Her day begins as early as 4am in order to [...]
Zambia: sanitation backlog to blame for high child mortality
25 May 09
Dehydration caused by severe diarrhoea is a key cause of infant deaths in Zambia, a country with one of the highest child morality rates in the world, according to a new report by Zambia’s health department. This will not change until government makes a major effort to improve access to clean water and sanitation throughout [...]
South Africa: Healthy Hands Campaign
25 May 09
Specialist sponsorship and brand activation agency Exp South Africa recently oversaw an innovative project that aimed to teach children in rural schools about the importance of keeping clean.Working with Lifebuoy, Spar and Build It in the spirit of the greater good, Exp spearheaded the ‘Healthy Hands’ campaign, which aimed to raise funds for schools in [...]
Namibia: roads toilet debate revived
25 May 09
WINDHOEK – The idea of erecting flushable ablution facilities along the national road network is still alive, and the final decision will be made next month on whether or not to go ahead with the plan.Roads Authority, together with the Ministry of Works and Transport, will embark on a second public consultation meeting to solicit [...]
Namiba, Hardap Region – bucket toilets are No More in Aranos
25 May 09
WINDHOEK – The village of Aranos in the Hardap Region no longer has the bucket toilet system, unlike other village councils like Gibeon in the same region.The last of the bucket toilet system was phased out in 1995 and was replaced by the pumping or slopping system, whereby each house has its own drain.According to [...]
Water and Sanitation Monitoring Platform (WSMP) launches website
07 May 09
The water and sanitation monitoring platform (WSMP) is the name of an ACP-EU Water facility-funded project managed by UNICEF, which is being implemented in Ghana, Mozambique and Nigeria. The project concerns the establishment and operation of national water and sanitation sector monitoring platforms in these countries.The WSMP comprises of nationally established platforms, which work [...]
