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AfWA published its first white paper on Sanitation in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa shows the lowest access rate to drinking water and sanitation despite considerable efforts made by African governments and their partners. More than 65% of households in Sub-Saharan Africa are not connected to a sewer system, leaving many to depend on sanitation systems that create fecal sludge.
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| White paper on Sanitation in Africa and the Initial Situation Assessement of the RASOP Program |
The substantial increase in pit latrines and septic tanks during the “race” towards the Millennium Development Goals has led to a huge production of fecal sludge that must now be properly managed. Without a fecal sludge management (FSM) chain, the Sustainable Development Goal to achieve universal access to sanitation is already unachievable. Efforts to improve FSM in Africa have recently scaled up, though they are concentrated in low-income urban settlements where over 80% of households use on-site sanitation facilities.
A rapid assessment of stakeholder status was conducted in the sanitation sector of four sub-regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, 31 countries overall, from October to December 2015 under the coordination of AfWA. This assessment characterized the sanitation situation, including the opportunities and constraints of non-sewer and FSM; identified and explored non-sewer and FSM models in Africa with potential for replication; and shortlisted municipalities, utilities and operators as potential mentors and mentees.
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| AfWA Marketing Manager presenting the White Paper to the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources in GHANA Hon.Joseph Kofi ADDA |
This white paper on sanitation in Africa was published with the financial support of USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ghana's Minister of Water Supply and Sanitation Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda received this white paper after opening the 77th AfWA Scientific and Technical Council Meetings in Accra, Ghana on July 17, 2017.
This white paper has laid the groundwork for future peer-to-peer learning partnership programs, such as RASOP (Reinforcing the capacity of African Sanitation Operators Program) implemented by AfWA. AfWA has also recently published a synthesis of the RASOP Program Initial Assessment. This document, in English and French, reviews the FSM situation in participating cities: Yamoussoukro (Côte d’Ivoire), Bamako (Mali), Yaoundé (Cameroon), Lusaka (Zambia), and Kampala (Uganda). This synthesis also highlights the strengths and weaknesses that will need to be addressed for proper implementation, said Dr. Mbaye Mbéguéré, RASOP Program Coordinator.
Download here the free White Paper on Sanitation (English Only) and the synthesis of the initial assessment of Rasop.