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Water and sanitation still major challenges in Africa, especially for rural and poor citizens

AD784: Water and sanitation still major challenges in Africa, especially for rural and poor citizens

A majority of citizens say their household experienced a shortage of clean water during the past year.

Mohamed Nejib Ben SaadGeorge William Kayanja and Stevenson Ssevume Male 19 Mar 2024

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Summary
Safe water and sanitation are essential to the health of all Africans as well as to the social and economic development of their countries, yet millions lack access to both (African Union, 2023; World Health Organization, 2023).
Despite governments’ commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, most countries are not on track to meet their objective of ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (United Nations, 2015, 2023; African Union, 2015, 2023). According to the 2023 Africa Sustainable Development Report, 411 million Africans still lack access to safe water, and almost three-fourths don’t benefit from safely managed sanitation services (United Nations Development Programme, 2023).
The urgency of ensuring water security is heightened by the effects of climate change, including prolonged droughts that threaten agriculture as well as household water supplies (Mumssen, 2022; Malpass & Sall, 2022).
The latest Afrobarometer surveys in 39 African countries find little progress toward the goal of universal access to safe water and sanitation. Water supply ranks fourth among the most important problems that Africans want their government to address. About one in four citizens report that their household frequently went without enough clean water during the past year. Only minorities enjoy access to piped water and a sanitation system, with stark disadvantages among rural and poor populations. A growing majority give their government poor marks on their provision of water and sanitation services.
Afrobarometer surveys
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Nine survey rounds in up to 42 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 9 surveys (2021/2023) cover 39 countries. (See Appendix Table A.1 for a list of countries and fieldwork dates.)
Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice that yield country-level results with margins of error of +/-2 to +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
This 39-country analysis is based on 53,444 interviews. The data are weighted to ensure nationally representative samples. When reporting multi-country averages, all countries are weighted equally (rather than in proportion to population size).

Key findings
 On average across 39 countries, water supply ranks fourth among the most important problems that Africans want their government to address, trailing unemployment, management of the economy, and health.
o Water outranks all other problems in Benin and Mozambique, and ranks second in Guinea, Niger, Congo-Brazzaville, Tanzania, Togo, Ethiopia, and Namibia.
o Water supply is of particular concern among rural residents and the poor, who suffer major disadvantages on all indicators of access to clean water and sanitation.
 Nearly six in 10 Africans (56%) say their household experienced a shortage of clean water during the previous year, including 24% who say this happened “many times” or “always.”
 Among enumeration areas (EAs) visited by Afrobarometer field teams, 56% had a piped water system. Fewer than one-third of EAs had water systems in Zimbabwe (27%), Malawi (28%), Mozambique (28%), Liberia (28%), and Guinea (29%).
o On average, four in 10 respondents say they have water piped into their dwelling (27%) or their compound (13%), while about one-third rely primarily on a public tap or standpipe (17%) or a tubewell or borehole (16%). About one in five rely on well water (14%) or surface water (5%).
 Fewer than one-third (31%) of surveyed EAs have sewage systems, ranging from 5% in Malawi to 79% in Tunisia.
 One-third (34%) of respondents have a toilet in the home, while another 39% have facilities outside their dwelling but within their compound. One in five (19%) rely on toilets outside their compound, and 8% say they have no access to toilets or latrines.
 Only 38% of citizens give their government passing marks on its provision of water and sanitation services.


Water supply as a priority for African countries
On average across the 39 surveyed countries, water supply ranks fourth among the most important problems that citizens say their governments must address (Figure 1). Cited by 22% of respondents as one of up to three priorities, water supply follows unemployment (33%), management of the economy (29%), and health (29%) and ties with infrastructure/roads (22%) on citizens’ policy agenda.
Countries vary significantly in their level of concern about water supply (Figure 2). About half (49%) of Guineans rank water among their country’s most important problems, while virtually no Seychellois share this perception.
At the country level, water outranks all other problems in Benin (43%) and Mozambique (37%); ranks second in Guinea, Niger, Congo-Brazzaville, Tanzania, Togo, Ethiopia, and Namibia; and takes third place in Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda.

 

Key findings

Safe water and sanitation are essential to the health of all Africans as well as to the social  and economic development of their countries, yet millions lack access to both (African  Union, 2023; World Health Organization, 2023). 

Despite governments’ commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals  (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, most countries are not on track to meet their  objective of ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (United Nations, 2015, 2023; African Union, 2015,  2023). According to the 2023 Africa Sustainable Development Report, 411  million Africans still lack access to safe water, and almost three-fourths don’t  benefit from safely managed sanitation services (United Nations  Development Programme, 2023). 

The urgency of ensuring water security is heightened by the effects of  climate change, including prolonged droughts that threaten agriculture as well as household  water supplies (Mumssen, 2022; Malpass & Sall, 2022). 

The latest Afrobarometer surveys in 39 African countries find little progress toward the goal of  universal access to safe water and sanitation. Water supply ranks fourth among the most  important problems that Africans want their government to address. About one in four  citizens report that their household frequently went without enough clean water during the  past year. Only minorities enjoy access to piped water and a sanitation system, with stark  disadvantages among rural and poor populations. A growing majority give their government  poor marks on their provision of water and sanitation services. 

Mohamed Najib Ben Saad

Mohamed Nejib Ben Saad is the data quality manager for post-fieldwork at Afrobarometer.

George William Kayanja

George William Kayanja is a senior researcher for Hatchile Consult.

Stevenson Ssevume Male

Stevenson Ssevume Male is an associate researcher with Hatchile Consult Ltd. in Kampala, Uganda.

Source:https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad784-water-and-sanitation-still-major-challenges-in-africa-especially-for-rural-and-poor-citizens/

 

 

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