By Morgen Makombo Sikwila
Today’s water and sanitation crisis is rather an issue of access than of scarcity.
It is mainly rooted in poverty, power and inequality, not in physical availability. More people in the world own cell phones than have access to a toilet. As rural areas, cities and slums grow at increasing rates, the situation worsens. Every day, lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills thousands, leaving others with reduced quality of life.
Only few people have access to safe water supplies and sanitation services. Under five children die from diarrhoeal diseases yearly because of poor sanitation and hygiene as well as unsafe drinking water.
Access to water and sanitation refers not only to its quantity but also to its quality. How far the quality and especially the functionality are considered to evaluate the access is a controversial question.
Considering that the growing world population together with climatic changes might worsen the water scarcity for some regions, the promotion of access to water and sanitation is a steadily increasing challenge. Water is needed for all aspects of life. Without safe drinking water, humans, animals and plants cannot survive. And still, half of the people in the developing world are suffering from diseases associated with inadequate provision of water supply and sanitation facilities.
A big number of people live under the risk of trachoma blindness, which is associated with lack of safe water for washing face and hands Furthermore, inadequate sanitation causes economic losses and access to improved sanitation is seen to be one of the most important development drivers.
Access to water and sanitation, the prevention of polluting water, and improved hygiene are essential in improving the living standards of anyone on this planet. Furthermore, adequate water resources are essential for food production and thus for proper nutrition.
The (Sustainable Developmental Goal) SDG 6 aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. The goal includes six targets that give a normative framework and direction for development efforts in water and sanitation. Water is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda as it is a key prerequisite for overall SDG achievement. As interventions in water and sanitation contributes to improvements towards other goals like health, poverty, food security, it makes sense using the water and sanitation system of a region as an entry point to tackling the 2030 Agenda. Likewise, working on other goals like education and governance can leverage interventions in water and sanitation.
The SDG indicators related to water, sanitation and hygiene are far more extensive. While the MDGs had only one target related to water and sanitation, the SDGs had one goal with different indicators (SDG 6) as well as indicators from other goals: SDG 3 targeting health related issues, SDG 11 aimed at promoting sustainable cities and communities, SDG 12 on the topic on responsible consumption and production and SDG 15 focusing on the protection of land and water ecosystems. This indicates the critical importance of water and its links to the different aspects of sustainable development. It also emphasises the interlinkages between the different goals and the improved impacts in the process of achieving them. Moreover, the (water-related) SDGs are targeting all world population, while the only water –related MDG target (7c) aimed to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
In spite of its increasing importance, hygiene was not explicitly included in the MDGs. Having more detailed SDGs ensures better data collection and analysis to fulfil the SDGs. By this transition, more attention has been brought worldwide to the topic of water security.
By 2030, improving water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally, improves public health and economic development. Substantial increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity.
Progress in sanitation has been lower than it has been for water, in the meantime basic sanitation is decreasing. Most people in the world do not use improved sanitation facilities rely on open defecation or the use on unimproved facilities. Virtually, the entire population of the developed regions uses improved facilities, in developing regions only around half the population uses improved sanitation.
A lot of progress has happened between 2000 and 2022 in sanitation and sanitation practices. However, the progress is slow and needs to double in order to reach the target of eliminating open defecation in rural areas by 2030.
Sub-Saharan Africa has less access to handwashing facilities. Although taboos topics such as defecation and menstrual hygiene have been broken and behavioural change has been mentioned and even examined in the water and sanitation sector generally and in relation to hygiene specifically, much remains to be done. Hygiene promotion should consider marginalised people and children as well as be kept on the agenda in times of instabilities and crisis.
Regarding to water and sanitation, the shift from the MDGs to SDGs has changed the perspective and importance on water and sanitation topics in the world. While MDGs where focusing on access of water and basic sanitation, the new SDG 6 and other targets related to water are far more comprehensive. This emphasises the need for better management, capacity and resources management as well as support.
Efforts are needed to reduce urban-rural disparities and inequities associated with poverty; to dramatically increase coverage in countries in sub-Saharan Africa to promote global monitoring of drinking water quality; to bring sanitation coverage ‘on track’. With half the population of developing regions without safely managed sanitation, the 2030 target appears to be hard to reach. But the SDGs are still attainable.
Water is crucial for any form of development. Expanding access to domestic water supply and sanitation services will bring the international community closer to meeting a number of other SDGs – in fact, for many of the targets, it is difficult to imagine how significant progress can be made without first ensuring that poor households have a safe, reliable water supply and adequate sanitation facilities. Meeting the target on access to water and sanitation is particularly vital in terms of the poverty, gender, and health goals, and also has a significant impact on other Goals. According to UNDP, overall human development is more closely linked to access to water and sanitation than any other development driver, including spending on health or education, and access to energy services.
Improved access to water and sanitation and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) have various impacts on social and economic development of millions of people.Household livelihood security depends on the health of its members, hence adults who are ill themselves or who must care for sick children are less productive.
Illnesses caused by unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation generate health costs that can claim a large share of poor households’ income.
Time spent collecting water cannot be used for other livelihood activities. IWRM can improve allocation (agriculture, industry, households) and reduce vulnerability to water-related hazards.Healthy people are better able to absorb the nutrients in food than those suffering from water-related diseases, particularly worms, which rob their hosts of calories.
Water is a direct input to irrigation for expanded grain production. Reliable water sources (IWRM) support subsistence agriculture, home gardens, livestock, and tree crops and thus higher nutritional standards. Reliable water services relieve girls from water-fetching duties, allowing them to attend school. Having separate sanitation facilities for girls in schools increases their school attendance, especially after menarche. Reducing illness related to water and sanitation, including injuries from water-carrying, improves school attendance, especially for girls. Water sources and sanitation facilities closer to home put women and girls at less risk for sexual harassment and assault while gathering water and searching for privacy.
Community-based organisations for water supplies and sanitation can improve social capital of women. Reduced time, health, and care-giving burdens from improved water services give women more time for productive endeavours, adult education, empowerment activities, and leisure.
Higher rates of child survival are a precursor to the demographic transition to lower fertility rates; having fewer children reduces women’s domestic responsibilities.
Sanitation and safe water in health care facilities help ensure clean delivery and reduce neonatal deaths.
Improved sanitation, safe drinking water sources, and greater quantities of domestic water for washing reduce infant and child morbidity and mortality. Mothers with improved water supply and sanitation services are better able to care for their children, both because they have fewer illnesses and because they devote less time to water-fetching and seeking privacy for defecation. Accessible sources of water reduce labour burdens and health problems resulting from water portage, reducing maternal mortality risks. Improved health and nutrition reduce susceptibility to anaemia and other conditions that affect maternal mortality.
Safe drinking water and basic sanitation help prevent water-related diseases, including diarrhoeal diseases, schistosomiasis, filariasis, trachoma, and helminthes. 1.6 million deaths per year are attributed to unsafe water, poor sanitation, and lack of hygiene. Improved water and sanitation supplies reduce diarrhoea morbidity. Improved sanitation reduces flows of human excreta into waterways, helping to protect human and environmental health.
Improving water supply and sanitation services can have substantial economic benefit: the WHO estimated some years ago that each $1 invested would yield an economic return of between $3 and $34, depending on the region. The UNDP estimated recently that an investment in water supply yields an average economic return of $4.4 to $1 and investment in sanitation a return of $9.1 to $1 (UNDP 2010).
The health-related costs avoided would reach billions per year, and the annual global value of adult working days gained because of less illness would rise to millions. Better services resulting from the relocation of a well or borehole to a site closer to user communities, the installation of piped water supplies in houses, and toilets closer to homes yield significant time savings. The annual value of these time savings would amount to billions if the target is met.
There is no life without water. Water is a driver of development and plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty: it is vital for human nutrition and health, and essential for ecosystem management, agriculture, energy and overall planetary security. Water-related risks can have grave human and economic costs and represent some of the causes of migration. Water scarcity has the potential to affect peace and security which on its own impede development.
Morgen Makombo Sikwila
MSc Peace and Governance
BSc Counselling
Diploma in Environmental Health
Certificate in Marketing Management
Phone Number 0772823282
email address: morgensikwilam@gmail.com
