Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WaSH) Roundup – March 2018

Here is a compilation of WASH related news, views and articles worth reading in March 2018.

Compiled by:  Henry Anyanwu

Reaching for the SDGs: the untapped potential of Tanzania’s water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector

By George Joseph on The Water Blog

When it comes to economic success, Tanzania offers a model for the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. Growth has averaged 6.5 percent per year over the past decade, and between 2007 and 2012 nearly a third of the poorest 40% of the population rose out of poverty. However, the progress towards improving water and sanitation access for all has not kept a similar pace.

A new report by the World Bank, ‘Reaching For The SDGs’ was launched by the Honorable Eng. Isack Kamwelwe, Minister of Water and Irrigation on March 20 in Dar es Salaam. In her welcome address, Ms. Bella Bird, Country Director for Tanzania, Malawi, and Burundi said, “adequate WASH is a crucial component of basic human necessities that allow a person to thrive in life”.  The report shows how water and sanitation services need to advance substantially in order to achieve much needed improvements in health and wellbeing that will help the country fulfill its true potential.  Progress in this area still has a …read more

Fukushima plant ice wall partly reduces radioactive water

On Fox News

A government-commissioned group of experts has concluded that a costly underground ice wall is only partially effective in reducing the ever-growing amount of contaminated water at Japan’s destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant, and other measures are needed as well.

The plant’s operator says the ice wall has helped reduce the radioactive water by half. The plant also pumps out several times as much groundwater before it reaches the tsunami-damaged reactors.

The panel agreed Wednesday that the 35 billion yen ($320 million) ice wall helps, but doesn’t completely solve the problem.

The 1.5-kilometer (1-mile) coolant-filled underground structure was installed around the …read more

Water Action Month – Walk for water Abuja, Nigeria

By temitope On Hope Spring Water Blog

Emeka Asonye and other Walk for water Abuja volunteers

The Water Action Month is an initiative of End Water Poverty – A coalition of Civil Society Organizations and NGOs working to end water poverty in their respective countries. In March, members of the End Water Poverty Coalition, celebrate to contribute to the global advocacy around World Water Day, led by UN-Water, on 22 March. End Water Poverty members are so passionate about it that the entire month of March is dedicated to taking action to stand together and call for a better and more sustainable water future!
The month of global action in March provides a platform for organizations and communities to stand together with one common voice; advocating for change and a world where no one is left behind, and everyone has their rights to water and sanitation realized.
As a member of End Water Poverty Coalition, …read more

World Water Day Animation

By Anna Nylander on worldwaterday.org

Every drop of water is on an endless journey through the sky, the soil and streams…through our lives…and back into nature.

In many places, our environment is damaged, leaving us with polluted water or no water at all.

Nature is green infrastructure. A system supplying us with the water we need to survive and thrive.

Healthy forests and fields …read more

Farmers, herdsmen’s clashes hampering sanitation interventions in Benue

On environewsnigeria.com

The continuous clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State have been hindering effective sanitation interventions.

Programme Manager, United Purpose, Mr Nanpet Chuktu, made the assertion at a Programme Coordinating Mechanism (PCM) meeting of the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) programme in Abuja on Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

According to Chuktu, the lingering crises have affected Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) interventions.

“This has also led to a relapse of communities who were formerly …read more

How can we leave no one behind if we aren’t counting the most marginalised?

By Amy Keegan and Lucy Morrell on End Water Poverty

This March is Water Action Month hosted by End Water Poverty (EWP).  Each year, members of EWP come together to organise activities and campaign for WASH access. This year the campaign is focused on advocating for universal access to safely managed WASH services.

However, two years into the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) era and we still do not have access to data to allow us to track access figures for safely managed WASH services.

How can we advocate for safely managed services …read more

Data Availability and progress towards the SDG targets by region. UNICEF, 2018

Why are so many water points in Nigeria non-functional? : an empirical analysis of contributing factors (English)

By Luis Andres, Gnanaraj Chellaraj, Basab Das Gupta, Jonathan Grabinsky and George Joseph

This paper utilizes information from the 2015 Nigeria National Water and Sanitation Survey to identify the extent, timing, as well as reasons for the failure of water points. The paper finds that more than 38 percent of all improved water points are nonfunctional. The results indicate that nearly 27 percent of the water points are likely to fail in the first year of construction, while nearly 40 percent are likely to fail in the long run (after 8–10 years). The paper considers the reasons behind these failures, looking at whether they can or cannot be controlled. During the first year, a water point’s location—the political region and underlying hydrogeology— has the greatest impact on functionality. Other factors—specifically, those that can be controlled in the design, implementation, and operational stages—also contribute significantly. As water points age, their likelihood of failure is best predicted by factors that cannot be modified, as well as by the technology used. The paper concludes that, to improve the sustainability of water points, much can be done at the design, implementation, and operational stages. Over time, technology upgrades are important. …Download Paper

Insightful tweets on World Water Day, Thursday 22nd 2018

By temitope on Hope Spring, Water Blog

Instead of writing a long article about World Water Day, or the reason whey clean water and adequate sanitation is important. Here is a collection of tweets and other useful information about water and SDG 6, collected from prominent water organisations twitter feed. …read more

Giorgio Armani enters the ninth year of its Acqua for Life program

On Water Aid

Acqua for Life is a development program focused on universal access to drinking water in water scarce regions with:

• a comprehensive approach committed to the issues of clean water, hygiene and sanitation
• a continuous commitment since 2010, echoing the right to water and sanitation, recognized by the united nations as a human right that same year
• activities in the most deprived communities in partnership with Unicef USA, Green Cross International and, as of 2018, WaterAid

For the ninth consecutive year, Acqua for Life is continuing its global development program. Since 2010, Acqua for Life has invested over 5.5 million euros in projects worldwide. To date, this has brought 880 million liters of water to 130,000 people in 146 communities across three continents*. In order to reach even more beneficiaries, as of 2018 Acqua for Life will partner with WaterAid, a UK based NGO, as well as historic partners Unicef USA and Green Cross International.

WaterAid/Giorgio Armani

“The issue of the environment intimately involves everyone: it should be addressed in a concrete way. We can in no way ignore that the future of the next generations depends on our choices.”
– Giorgio Armani

* 2017 Green Cross International figures …read more

Safe water for new mothers: Upgrading Sierra Leone’s health centres

By Harriet Mason on unicef.org

At least by West African standards, it’s a chilly morning in the small town of Konta Line, Sierra Leone. But several women and children – and some men – have braved the cold to get to the local health centre to access medical care.

When they arrive, the first thing they do was previously out of the question – they wash their hands at the entrance. Just a year ago, the centre had no water or sanitation facilities.

© UNICEF Sierra Leone/2017/Mason: A girl washes her hands at the Konta Line Community Health Centre in Sierra Leone.

Reducing mother and child deaths

“We used to struggle a lot to fetch water to wash the equipment and clean the centre, especially the delivery room,” says Fatmata Conteh, midwife at the Konta Line Community Health Centre. “This was really frustrating especially during the dry season when the water level of the only well we relied on went down. We had to go to the streams outside the facility to find water.” …read more

temitope