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

coverage rate of the national population and 97.87per cent of that of the population covered.The vital link between low access to water andsanitation services with high incidence of waterrelateddiseases has already been mentioned andneed not be overstated. It is therefore importantto identify vicinities where the need for quick actionto improve domestic water supply and sanitationis greatest and focus on the links betweenwater supply, sanitation, and health. This is becausespending resources on locations with bothlow levels of access to improved services and highprevalence of water-related diseases is most likelyto have a substantial public health impact. In assessingthe link between water supply servicesand the incidence of diarrhoea, for example, ninecountries were identified where water supply coverageis less than 50 per cent and diarrhoea prevalence20 per cent - 40 per cent of households. Ofthese, eight are in Africa, namely, Angola, BurkinaFaso, Chad, the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guinea,and Mauritania. A similar analysis for sanitationservices suggests a greater number of countries inneed of urgent action; 15 nations have coveragerates below 50 per cent and diarrhea prevalenceranges from 20 per cent to 40 per cent. As withwater supply, all “high-need” countries identifiedin connection with sanitation are in Africaand Asia. In Africa, these include Angola, Benin,Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad,Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mauritania, Mozambique,Namibia, the Niger, and Togo (MDG TaskForce on Water and Sanitation, 2005).It is however encouraging to note that Africahas made a significant and steady progress in theeradication of the Guinea worm disease throughimproved drinking water and other actions. Thenumber of people suffering from this disease hasbeen reduced by 99 per cent, from an estimated3.5 million cases in 1986 to less than 35,000 reportedcases in 2003 (ibid).Women and WaterThe development of waterworks is of particularimportance to women who, in most countries,do most of the water carrying and water-relatedhousework such as cooking and washing. Furthermore,since women do housework and raisechildren, keeping their children clean and housessanitary depends largely on their awareness. Developmentof waterworks benefits women themost and, therefore, without their cooperation,sustainable development of waterworks is difficultto achieve (Yamamura S. T. el al, 2002). Inmany rural areas, where communities maintainsmall-scale waterworks facilities, women are oftenresponsible for the facilities, from the maintenanceto usage. Water supply projects in ruralareas are also considered Women in Development(WID) projects.Large-scale waterworks or the construction ofwaterworks in urban areas are generally consideredas part of infrastructure development and,therefore, seem to have little to do with women,although considering the primary object of WIDand viewpoints of women themselves, womenare obviously linked to every water project. It iswomen who primarily use water, and waterworksshould benefit them the most. Therefore, women’sopinions and experiences are very useful forbasic research necessary for waterworks projects:How much they use water daily, how often theyfetch water, the purpose, what kind of facilitiesare useful and whether or not they can afford thewater charges are essential considerations.There is no doubt that small-scale waterworksfacilities in rural areas, such as utilization of shallowwells or spring water, are more deeply relatedto women. Recent water supply projects in ruralareas have adopted community-participatedmethods in which development of water-supplyingfacilities, hygiene education, and WID areintegrated (ibid). Box 5.6 states more on Africaninitiatives on gender mainstreaming challengesin water resources management.WATER FOR MEETING BASIC NEEDS113