News / Local
76% of people now have access to improved water sources - Report
30 Apr 2013 at 02:56hrs | Views
A recent Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) has revealed that 76% of people in the country now have access to improved water sources, up from 46 percent in 2008, according to
However, only 37,3 of the population have access to basic sanitation, representing a marginal increase from 30 percent in 2008.
Despite the progress, Water Resources Management and Development Minister Dr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo on Sunday said the country was unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of having at least 85 percent of the population accessing safe water and basic sanitation by 2015.
"The country still faces significant challenges, especially in infrastructure development and maintenance. We need a massive injection of capital in the sector to meet the goal," said Dr Nkomo.
The Country Status Overview last year suggested that to improve safe water coverage percent to the 85 percent required by the MDGs, Zimbabwe needs an estimated $365 million per year.
For sanitation $336 million is needed.
Dr Nkomo said the recently approved National Water Policy (NWP) sought to accelerate improvement by inviting private players to invest in the water sector.
"The Government and local authorities have struggled over the years to develop and maintain water infrastructure. The National Water Policy allows local authorities that are facing serious revenue challenges, to contract private players to implement infrastructure rehabilitation. In the long run, this may actually make water cheaper to supply. The present situation where aged infrastructure is being used to convey water to residents is highly inefficient as a lot of water that would have been purified at a cost is lost due to leaks," said Dr Nkomo.
A household survey undertaken by the Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (ZimStat) in conjunction with the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) revealed last year that about 4 000 children under the age of five, most of them in rural areas, are killed by diarrhoea every year in Zimbabwe due to lack of access to safe water and basic sanitation leading to frequent diarrhoeal outbreaks.
About 88 percent of the diarrhoea cases are due to poor water and sanitation.
It has been discovered that diarrhoea in Zimbabwe kills more children than HIV and Aids, malaria and measles combined.
Although progress has been made in rehabilitating water infrastructure in urban areas and cholera has remained under control since 2009, rural populations continue to bear the brunt of the poor water and sanitation in the country.
Zimbabwe and other sub-Saharan countries are not on track to meet the sanitation MDG target.
Only Angola, Botswana, Rwanda and South Africa are likely to meet the 2015 deadline.
Sanitation remains one of the most off-track Millennium Development Goals, with 2.5 billion people worldwide still lacking access, leading to thousands of child deaths every day.
The eight MDGs which range from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV and Aids and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and all the world's leading development institutions.
They have galvanised unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world's poorest people.
However, only 37,3 of the population have access to basic sanitation, representing a marginal increase from 30 percent in 2008.
Despite the progress, Water Resources Management and Development Minister Dr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo on Sunday said the country was unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of having at least 85 percent of the population accessing safe water and basic sanitation by 2015.
"The country still faces significant challenges, especially in infrastructure development and maintenance. We need a massive injection of capital in the sector to meet the goal," said Dr Nkomo.
The Country Status Overview last year suggested that to improve safe water coverage percent to the 85 percent required by the MDGs, Zimbabwe needs an estimated $365 million per year.
For sanitation $336 million is needed.
Dr Nkomo said the recently approved National Water Policy (NWP) sought to accelerate improvement by inviting private players to invest in the water sector.
"The Government and local authorities have struggled over the years to develop and maintain water infrastructure. The National Water Policy allows local authorities that are facing serious revenue challenges, to contract private players to implement infrastructure rehabilitation. In the long run, this may actually make water cheaper to supply. The present situation where aged infrastructure is being used to convey water to residents is highly inefficient as a lot of water that would have been purified at a cost is lost due to leaks," said Dr Nkomo.
About 88 percent of the diarrhoea cases are due to poor water and sanitation.
It has been discovered that diarrhoea in Zimbabwe kills more children than HIV and Aids, malaria and measles combined.
Although progress has been made in rehabilitating water infrastructure in urban areas and cholera has remained under control since 2009, rural populations continue to bear the brunt of the poor water and sanitation in the country.
Zimbabwe and other sub-Saharan countries are not on track to meet the sanitation MDG target.
Only Angola, Botswana, Rwanda and South Africa are likely to meet the 2015 deadline.
Sanitation remains one of the most off-track Millennium Development Goals, with 2.5 billion people worldwide still lacking access, leading to thousands of child deaths every day.
The eight MDGs which range from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV and Aids and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and all the world's leading development institutions.
They have galvanised unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world's poorest people.
Source - thechronicle
