African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

African Water Development Report 2006Access to drinking water supply services in theCongo Republic decreased by 0.5 per cent in theurban environment and increased by 8.8 per centin the rural areas, an overall growth of 5 per cent(AWDR National Report, 2003). The people notserved usually make do with water from a varietyof sources to cover their drinking and domesticwater needs. These sources include:(a) Water direct from streams and rivers;(b) Unprotected wells and springs; and(c) Water vendors.A typical African access to potable drinking watersituation exemplified by the situation of Sudanis demonstrated in Box 5.4.Access to sanitation services in AfricaMost governments and communities have placeda higher priority on safe water, but that in itselfis not a panacea for all ills. Without a strongercommitment to sanitation, it will be difficult toreduce the incidence of diarrhoea, a major childkiller, and other diseases that flourish in unsani-Box 5.4Suffering in getting drinking Water and Difficulties in accessing drinking water in SudanAccording to the National Water Corporation (NWC) annual report, about 70% of urban residents have accessto a reasonable supply of safe water. However, due to inefficiency and problems associated with water deliveryinfrastructure and pumps, only 50% have adequate access to safe water. This is based on consumption per capitain urban areas taken as 50 l/day, which is far below the real need and WHO standard. Therefore, even the 50%is not realistic. Rural areas have on average less access; about 47% of rural residents have access to safe waterwhich drops by 25% during the dry months of the year (January to June). The rural daily consumption per capitais taken as 18 l/day. In 2001, the urban population was estimated to be about 30% while the rural was 68% andnomad 2%. In 2003, it was estimated at 48% in the urban areas, 50% in the rural areas and 2% for nomads.Therefore, according to the NWC the total drinking water requirement for urban areas is 0.8 billion m³ and forthe rural is 0.3 billion m³ annually. The water required for livestock was estimated at 4.0 billion m³. The totaldomestic water required by 2025 is estimated at 8 billion m³ (2.5 billion m3 for drinking water and 5.5 billionm3 for livestock and others).Source: Extracts from AWDR National Report, 2005102