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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Director of Africa Water Facility call for more investment in Sanitation Projects at Durban Meeting
Reported by Jaycee Kruger in South Africa
Africa will have to redouble its efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on sanitation if meaningful progress is to be made, the African Water Facility Director, Kordje Bedoumra, said on 18 February in Durban, South Africa.
“With eight years to go, it is clear that most African countries are unlikely to reach their Sanitation MDG targets unless approaches to sanitation change,” Mr. Bedoumra (pictured), who is leading the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group delegation to the Africa Sanitation Conference (AfricaSan) in Durban, South Africa, said.
Presenting the findings of a study by the African Ministers’ Council on Water jointly funded by the African Development Bank and the World Bank, Mr. Bedoumra said for Africa to meet the MDG for water and sanitation, the number of persons served would have to double from 350 million to 700 million by 2015. Even that would still leave 200 million people without the services. Investments in the sector would also have to be doubled to some US$26 billion. The study is titled ‘Can Africa Afford to Miss the Sanitation MDG Target?’
He said there was still a poor understanding of the critical role improved sanitation could play in Africa’s development. This was due, mainly, to competing priorities, including education and health. This has resulted in sanitation being considered as a low priority not only for households, but also for local, national and regional governments and this is reflected in inadequate budget allocations. Meanwhile, strategies for the sector are largely ‘left on paper’ while the provision of trained personnel and evaluation of projects remain poor.
Mr Bedmoura called for a reversal of this trend. “Sanitation is a key building block for health, the environment, education and gender equality. Improved sanitation offers a clear route to poverty reduction and the population’s improved health status,” he said. He urged African governments and their development partners to make the issue of sanitation a priority.
The African Development Bank Group is a key sponsor of the conference that has brought together some 250 delegates, including African ministers responsible for water and sanitation or their representatives, representatives of private and public sectors, academic and donor communities as well as representatives of multilateral institutions. Other lead sponsors of the conference include the South African government, UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
The African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative led by the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) to mobilize resources to finance water resources development activities in Africa. The African Development Bank (AfDB) hosts the Facility on the request of AMCOW. Mr. Bedoumra is the director of the African Water Facility and the director of the AfDB water and sanitation department.
The African Development Bank (ADB) is a regional multilateral development finance institution established in 1964 to mobilize resources towards the economic and social progress of its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). It is headquartered in
Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). Since beginning its operations in 1966, the Bank has become a key player in promoting economic and social development in African states, as proclaimed in the preamble of the Agreement under which it was established. The African Development Fund established in 1972 and the Nigeria Trust Fund established in 1976, constitute with the ADB as the flagship, the African Development Bank Group. For more information, visit www.adbg.org
Source: African Development Bank news release, February 19, 2008
Africa will have to redouble its efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on sanitation if meaningful progress is to be made, the African Water Facility Director, Kordje Bedoumra, said on 18 February in Durban, South Africa.
Presenting the findings of a study by the African Ministers’ Council on Water jointly funded by the African Development Bank and the World Bank, Mr. Bedoumra said for Africa to meet the MDG for water and sanitation, the number of persons served would have to double from 350 million to 700 million by 2015. Even that would still leave 200 million people without the services. Investments in the sector would also have to be doubled to some US$26 billion. The study is titled ‘Can Africa Afford to Miss the Sanitation MDG Target?’
He said there was still a poor understanding of the critical role improved sanitation could play in Africa’s development. This was due, mainly, to competing priorities, including education and health. This has resulted in sanitation being considered as a low priority not only for households, but also for local, national and regional governments and this is reflected in inadequate budget allocations. Meanwhile, strategies for the sector are largely ‘left on paper’ while the provision of trained personnel and evaluation of projects remain poor.
Mr Bedmoura called for a reversal of this trend. “Sanitation is a key building block for health, the environment, education and gender equality. Improved sanitation offers a clear route to poverty reduction and the population’s improved health status,” he said. He urged African governments and their development partners to make the issue of sanitation a priority.
The African Development Bank Group is a key sponsor of the conference that has brought together some 250 delegates, including African ministers responsible for water and sanitation or their representatives, representatives of private and public sectors, academic and donor communities as well as representatives of multilateral institutions. Other lead sponsors of the conference include the South African government, UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
The African Development Bank (ADB) is a regional multilateral development finance institution established in 1964 to mobilize resources towards the economic and social progress of its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). It is headquartered in
Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). Since beginning its operations in 1966, the Bank has become a key player in promoting economic and social development in African states, as proclaimed in the preamble of the Agreement under which it was established. The African Development Fund established in 1972 and the Nigeria Trust Fund established in 1976, constitute with the ADB as the flagship, the African Development Bank Group. For more information, visit www.adbg.org
Source: African Development Bank news release, February 19, 2008
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