The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that approximately 1.1 billion people, the overwhelming majority of which live in developing countries like Nigeria, are without access to safe drinking water, while 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation facilities. The result, we are told, is that every year about 1.6 million people, mostly children under 5 years old, die from water-related diseases (see here). Concern about this situation has driven the establishment of the "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs), of which No. 7 (achieve environmental sustainability) has as a key target (Target 3) the aim to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (see here).
The MDGs were agreed in 2000 and as at September 2008 a United Nations MDG fact sheet (see here) suggested that the world is on target to meet the MDG on drinking water but not on sanitation. A closer look, however, indicates that most progress in this area has been in north Africa, west and east Asia ... sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia lag far behind. This is self-evident to anyone who has travelled to Bangladesh, Kenya or Nigeria. Within Nigeria we all know about the slums in Lagos and Port Harcourt, as well as those parts of Abuja speeding towards "slumity".
Most of the countries affected, such as Nigeria, are not in a position to finance the investment required to deliver the MDG on water supply and sanitation. In Nigeria the situation is particularly acute as anecdotal evidence suggests that there are over 24 towns/cities with more than 100,000 people. According to what you choose to believe Lagos state alone has a population of anywhere between 9 million and 14 million. The argument is irrelevant; either way it still has a population greater than all of Scotland!
The problem in Nigeria is chronic and the solution, in my opinion, must necessarily be similarly drastic. It will have to be multi-disciplinary, and require pulling together skills and concepts from various areas of expertise. I also believe it will need constant re-assessment of some fundamental concepts such as: what water is used for, and the potential for reduction in consumption as an alternative to increased production; what appropriate water quality objectives should be, and many others. I have created the following categories to enable me focus on what I believe are the relevant issues:
- Objectives: this relates to concepts surrounding demand management (how water consumption can be reduced) and "appropriate" water quality standards. Demand management will of course overlap with technology (see below), but may also involve educational measures while appropriate water quality will seek to question the rationale behind producing only high quality (potable) water for supply when most water is used for sanitary purposes.
- Technology: I will look at conventional technologies such as centralised water treatment works, gravity sewer systems and such, which are usually promoted by engineers who, having worked in Europe and America might not be confident in their knowledge of alternative systems, which might be much cheaper and thus more readily applicable in Nigeria. Under this section I will also consider issues such as "scalability" (i.e. the potential for technology to be implemented at a small scale and then expanded as more funds become available - note that conventional systems are often NOT scalable).
- Finance: here I will look at how water infrastructure has traditionally been financed in developing countries (including Nigeria), compare this with how it is financed in developed countries and what ideas can be transferred to the Nigerian context. I will also look at ideas that are currently popular such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs); I'll discuss concerns with the PPP finance model and measures that can be taken to alleviate these concerns. I will also look at what I consider to be interesting financing arrangements such as community-funded systems and a hybrid I call CP3 (Community-Public-Private Partnerships), amongst others.
- Regulation: water has been recognised as a human right, one to which no one can be denied access on the basis of cost (see WHO document here), and it is important that the government play an important role in ensuring/protecting the rights of its citizens. I will look at legislation such as the Nigerian PPP legal framework and see how/if it makes provision for protection of access to water as a human right. There are some interesting measures that can be taken, even where infrastructure is privately funded, to ensure this right is protected and I will look at examples from other parts of the world with a view to deciding/suggesting what might be applicable in Nigeria.
- Projects: finally I will attempt to keep a record of innovative water infrastructure schemes in Nigeria. In this I would appreciate input from visitors.
Please feel free to contribute by adding references or links to interesting news articles on water and sanitation projects in Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment