WASH News Southern Africa
News feed maintained by information specialists from IRC and partners.
Namibia: French Give N$365000 for Toilets
07 Jul 08
Donations aimed at helping thousands of Namibians who were severely affected by floods in most northern parts of the country continue to pour in.The French government donated N$365000 to the Namibia Red Cross Society to be channelled towards the construction of toilets. Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Libertina Amathila, received the donation.Lack of toilet facilities in [...]
South Africa - Women still face raw deal
07 Jul 08
A damning report has highlighted horrific shortfalls in the provision of water and sanitation and the failure to end violence against women and children in some of South Africa’s poorest provinces.The report by the Presidential Working Group on Women (PWGW) comes as women and gender rights groups yesterday called for stronger political leadership in the [...]
1st Ordinary Congress of the United Cities & Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA), Accra, Ghana, 7-11 July 2008
22 Jun 08
Theme: Leadership for Local Governance, Development and the Delivery of MDGs in AfricaSub-themes include:Innovative practices in the provision of basic services at the local levelThe MDGs in AfricaOne of the Special Workshops will be on the UCLGA/WISA Water Programme.UCLGA and the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), signed an MOU for a five year partnership [...]
Southern Africa: Local Government and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) set of materials
18 Jun 08
The set of materials entitled “Local Government and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)” aims to assist Local Governments with active participation in IWRM. The information provided addresses both the theory and practice of developing and implementing a process through which the IWRM principles of social equity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability can be applied.The materials [...]
DR Congo: cholera campaign ’should start at lakesides’
16 Jun 08
Research in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has shown that lakeside communities are often the source of cholera outbreaks.DRC health department officials plan to alter how they combat cholera following the research, which said that current efforts “failed to achieve long-term control”.[...]Most previous DRC cholera control efforts have targeted city residents, the researchers say. [...]
South Africa, Limpopo Province: Livelihoods in the wake of agricultural commercialisation, insights from small-scale irrigation schemes
11 Jun 08
Tapela, B.N. (2008). Livelihoods in the wake of agricultural commercialisation in South Africa’s poverty nodes : insights from small-scale irrigation schemes in Limpopo ProvinceDevelopment Southern Africa, vol. 25, no. 2 ; p. 181-198DOI: 10.1080/03768350802090584AbstractSmall-scale irrigation farming is envisaged to play a progressively larger role in rural development and to help reduce some inequalities in South [...]
South Africa: Minister to Take Over Municipal Water Supply
28 May 08
The government plans to step in where councils have failed to provide safe drinking water said Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks during her budget vote debate in Parliament on 23 May 2008.The decision was sparked by recent events including the deaths of babies who allegedly drank contaminated tap water in the Eastern Cape [...]
Mozambique: More Drinking Water for Zambezia And Nampula
28 May 08
About two million people in Mozambique’s two most populous provinces, Zambezia and Nampula, are to benefit from clean drinking water, with the opening of 1,600 new water sources, 800 in each province. The Mozambican government signed a financing agreement with the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of India, at the behest of Government of India, for a [...]
Africa Day 2008: “Meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation”
28 May 08
Africa Day, celebrated annually on 25 May, is the official day of the African Union (AU). This year, on the 45th anniversary of Africa Day, the theme is “Meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation”. In his official statement, Jean Ping, the Chairperson of the AU Commission said that Africa’s “Heads [...]
Namibia: Poor Toilet Facilities Hamper Cholera Efforts
28 May 08
Lack of pit latrines and general toilet facilities in the northern regions of the country is likely to compromise health officials’ efforts in curbing cholera, a disease that has since early this year claimed more than 37 lives.Regional Health Director for the Ohangwena Region Dr Naftali Hamata has said if no drastic measures are taken [...]
