Niger Delta Human Development Report - UNDP Nigeria - United ...

About 20 per cent to 24
per cent of rural
communities and 45 per
cent to 50 per cent of
urban communities
have access to safe
drinking water.
Most rural dwellers see
transport and
communication as a
source of misery. They
often trek long distances
trekking due to the high
cost of motorcycle
transport
Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ondo and
Imo-water problems are very acute and
result in supplies of unsafe water in more
than 50 per cent of the cases.
An NDES Report (2000) covering the
states of the Niger Delta region, except
Cross River State, also found that most
settlements depend on untreated surface
water and wells, which leads to health
problems from waterborne diseases. It was
estimated that only 20 per cent to 24 per
cent of rural communities and 45 per cent
to 50 per cent of urban communities have
access to safe drinking water.
Poor access to adequate drinking water has
had serious implications for the general
health, environment, economic activity and
sustainable livelihoods in the Niger Delta
region. The lack of potable water in rural
areas, as well as severe shortages of pipeborne
water in urban centres, necessitates
new policies that favour community
involvement and participation in devising
and managing water supply systems in a
sustainable fashion.
A common mode of transportation in the Niger Delta
Transport
Field research for this report revealed that
the delta's roads are mostly bad. Focus
group participants described them as being
impassable during the rainy season. Efforts
by local government authorities to repair
the roads have worsened them and left the
local people with more hardship. Although
urban road transportation development
has recently been accorded some priority
attention, less regard has been shown for
rural transportation, especially water
transport, which the majority of the rural
populace depend on. Focus group
participants referred to transport and
communication in the area as a source of
misery, requiring people to trek long and
excruciating distances due to the high cost
of motorcycle transport, a popular means
of transport. Some roads have so many
death traps that motorists avoid them. One
participant said that the only vehicle-worthy
road linking her community to the local
government headquarters is in a deplorable
state of disrepair.
28 NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT