At a recent meeting of the CSOs, the groups proposed the amendment to the Bill and called for removal of clauses that seem to create barriers to reproductive health rights of women.

These CSOs were in agreement that it was necessary to have a health law in place to help the realization of the right to health for Kenyans as provided for in the Kenyan Constitution, 2010.

However, they were quick to point out that the health Bill should give direction on how the right to health and the underlying determinants of health will be realized by all Kenyans including the vulnerable and marginalized people.

The Health Rights Advocacy Forum, a Nairobi-based NGO says the Taskforce on the Implementation of the Constitution in the Health Sector received inputs and comments from Stakeholders in the month of March 2012 and according to sources from the Ministry, they have been working on them to date.

Unfortunately, says an officer at the HERAF, there has been no communication on the progress of the same to stakeholders and at some point civil society has had the impression that the process had stalled or the task force working on the Bill is doing it alone.

Further, the source adds, there have been concerns on stakeholder’s engagement in the development of the Bill. The Bill was drafted by a consultant and stakeholders have only been called upon to give comments on the already developed Bill. “Moreover, despite giving their comments, there has been no feedback from the taskforce on whether their inputs are relevant, have or have not been considered,” adds the source.

According to Prof Joseph Karanja of the University of Nairobi, the 67-page Bill has good intentions but it also has some contentious issues that the committee has included. The worst bit of it, says Prof Karanja is the refusal by the committee members to ignore objections and proposals from other stakeholders working outside the government. “Although they are few, but they have wider implications,” said Prof Karanja.

He said the bill is generally aims to establishing structures for improving Kenya’s health systems and not to manage certain health conditions.

He singled out some section early in the bill that talks of family planning and tries to name abortion as a method of family planning.

“The Bill is singling out abortion as a method of family planning but leaves out all other health conditions. “It looks as if there is an ulterior motive to create barriers against abortion. This is contrary to the new constitution.

He said the way the Bill is put, it implies Kenyans will be denied the right given by Article 26 of the constitution and stigmatises abortion. Yet the ministry health guidelines on family planning don’t cite abortion as a method of family planning.

Article 26 (4) of the constitution permits abortion except when in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger, or if permitted by any other written law.

The CSOs also hit out attempts by the Bill drafters to say that abortion is notifiable disease condition like cholera, ebola, tryphoid and TB. “This is quite wrong,” said Prof Karanja.

The CSO members have called for the deleting the section that brings in the issue of abortion in the Bill.

The way out, says Prof Karanja is for the committee to wait for the proposed Termination of Pregnancy Bill which aims to shed light into how abortion is to be managed. This is in line with the way how all other medical conditions have been treated.

As it reads, say health experts, the proposed Health Act negates Article 26(4, 43(1) and (2) as it adds another obstacle of licensing.

The committee working on the Bill is composed of some technocrats at the ministry of health and it is said to ignore comments from the professional societies such the Nurses’ Council of Kenya, the Kenya Medical Association, and others.

Prof Karanja says that the process of selecting them was selective and brings together only a few people with like-minds who ignore others with opposed views.

The CSOs say the entire Bill has been developed with little consultation and comments, recommendations and proposals from professional bodies are ignored.

But the Minister for Medical Services, Prof Anyang Nyong told members of the civil society not to be worried.

He said the Bill is still under vey early stage of drafting.

He adds that after the drafting, the Bill will be sent to the Committee on Implementation of the Constitution which is required by law to provide a minimum of 30 days to allow public comments and additions.

“It is at this stage that members of the civil society will be needed to bring in their recommendations and memoranda,” he said.

Kenya has an estimated 360,000 abortions every year, 20,000 of these end up in admissions with complications which in turn result in 2,000 maternal deaths

According to studies by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, for every woman who dies, six others are left with complications which can be severe leading to loss of reproductive organs like uterus.

Experts now say with broad interpretation of Section 26 of the Constitution, there is no longer any reason a woman should die of pregnancy-related deaths. “The provision of the constitution now negates the notion that abortion is illegal in Kenya,” say experts.

According to experts, while all African countries have post abortion services, none ever asks questions on unsafe abortion.

Most abortion laws in Africa are inherited from former colonial masters but most have either been amended or are in the process of being amended as they were originally meant to save women from abuse by the medics 200 years ago.

While Kenyan official line still appears against abortion, some countries like Ethiopia, Zambia and Ghana seem to have some lax approach to abortion.

In Ethiopia for example, the law allows abortion on medical, mental, age (below 18 years) and is allowed without any other requirements. In Ghana, the law allows abortions for rape, incest.

In Zambia, abortion can be procured on socio-economic grounds. South Africa offers abortion on demand. It is only in Lesotho and Swaziland where abortion is still prohibited.

But the irony is, says an expert at IPPF, all over Africa, post-abortion care is provided for in government hospital facilities yet no one asks where abortion is initially done. This, says the source is a misnomer. “Post abortion is more costly compared to attempts to provide safe abortion.”

According to IPPF, there are estimated 210 million pregnancies every year. 46 million of these pregnancies are either spontaneously aborted or induced. 20 million pregnancies that are aborted are classified as unsafe. Of these, 4.3m occur in sub-Saharan Africa where 90% of abortions are considered unsafe.

Studies also show that by making abortion legal, you don’t increase the number of abortion.

In many studies, the number will increase initially…but this is explained by the fact that many women will not opt to go for the official healthcare facilities to procure abortion. But in the long-run the number drops due to the added family planning services.

AUTHOR: Henry Neondo
URL: http:// www.africasciencenews.org
E-MAIL: neondohenry [at] yahoo.com

Scene from the Liberia WASH CSOs Legislative Dinner Meeting in Monrovia

As the momentous campaign continues to create an enabling environment for access to safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene in Liberia, a partnership has been formed between the Liberia CSOs WASH Network and some members of the 53rd National Legislature to champion WASH issues at that August body.

The partnership was established last Friday at a dinner meeting organized by the Liberia Civil Society Organizations WASH Network, a group leading an advocacy for government and development partners to provide safe drinking water, Improved Sanitation and better hygiene.

The dinner meeting was called by the CSOs to provide vital information to the law markers concerning the Liberia WASH sector, the national budget and also to inform them about government’s commitment to the sector.

At the dinner meeting held at a local hotel in Monrovia, the CSOs WASH Network called on the Legislators to assist them in making sure that there is a line item in the National Budget for water, sanitation and hygiene.

Welcoming the Law Markers at the program, the Chairman of the Network, Prince D. Kreplah commanded them for attending the dinner meeting and for their interest in taking strong political action with the goal of addressing issues relating the Liberia WASH sector.

Mr. Kreplah informed them that the dinner meeting was a follow-up to the signing of the pledge card committing themselves in supporting efforts gear toward establishing a favorable environment for WASH in the country.

The Process leading to the signing of political commitments by most of the Law Makers was carried out by the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia through the “Candidates’ Engagements” during the campaign activities of the 2011 General and Presidential elections in Liberia.

A release from the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia says during the dinner meeting, the group called for partnership with the law makers to buttress efforts by stake holders and development partners in pushing the WASH sector forward.

The WASH CSOs Chairman further told the Law Markers that the establishment of a Standing Committee with oversight on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in both houses is one of the items topping the agenda of his group.

He said with the establishment of the committee in the National Legislature, it will create more awareness and concern about the importance of water, sanitation and hygiene in Liberia.

The group presented four separate documents to the Law Markers, ranging from commitments made by the government in the sector, loses Liberia experiences annually due to poor sanitation, the WASH Compact- document detailing issues in the WASH sector and the way forward, and resolution 64/292 adopted by the UN General Assembly making water and sanitation a human right issue.

In remarks, the Law Markers reassured the CSOs of their commitment in championing the issues of water, sanitation and hygiene in the both Houses (Representatives and Senate).

According to them, the issue of water, sanitation and hygiene cannot be over-emphasized due to its importance and the role it plays in the lives of all Liberians.

The Law Markers urged the CSOs to be in constant contact with them and continue to provide necessary information that will be used as a tool to lobby with their colleagues in making WASH a hot cake at the National Legislature.

They however disclosed that all will be done from their end of the Legislature to persuade President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to issue the Executive Order for the establishment of a Water Supply & Sanitation Commission(WSSC).

The Legislators further encouraged the CSOs to always knock on their doors for their intervention whenever a new issue comes about relating to the WASH sector.

The partnership was established last Friday at a dinner meeting organized by the Liberia Civil Society Organizations WASH Network, a group leading an advocacy for government and development partners to provide safe drinking water, Improved Sanitation and better hygiene.

The dinner meeting was called by the CSOs to provide vital information to the law markers concerning the Liberia WASH sector, the national budget and also to inform them about government’s commitment to the sector.

At the dinner meeting held at a local hotel in Monrovia, the CSOs WASH Network called on the Legislators to assist them in making sure that there is a line item in the National Budget for water, sanitation and hygiene.

Welcoming the Law Markers at the program, the Chairman of the Network, Prince D. Kreplah commanded them for attending the dinner meeting and for their interest in taking strong political action with the goal of addressing issues relating the Liberia WASH sector.

Mr. Kreplah informed them that the dinner meeting was a follow-up to the signing of the pledge card committing themselves in supporting efforts gear toward establishing a favorable environment for WASH in the country.

The Process leading to the signing of political commitments by most of the Law Makers was carried out by the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia through the “Candidates’ Engagements” during the campaign activities of the 2011 General and Presidential elections in Liberia.

A release from the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia says during the dinner meeting, the group called for partnership with the law makers to buttress efforts by stake holders and development partners in pushing the WASH sector forward.

The WASH CSOs Chairman further told the Law Markers that the establishment of a Standing Committee with oversight on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in both houses is one of the items topping the agenda of his group.

He said with the establishment of the committee in the National Legislature, it will create more awareness and concern about the importance of water, sanitation and hygiene in Liberia.

The group presented four separate documents to the Law Markers, ranging from commitments made by the government in the sector, loses Liberia experiences annually due to poor sanitation, the WASH Compact- document detailing issues in the WASH sector and the way forward, and resolution 64/292 adopted by the UN General Assembly making water and sanitation a human right issue.

In remarks, the Law Markers reassured the CSOs of their commitment in championing the issues of water, sanitation and hygiene in the both Houses (Representatives and Senate).

According to them, the issue of water, sanitation and hygiene cannot be over-emphasized due to its importance and the role it plays in the lives of all Liberians.

The Law Markers urged the CSOs to be in constant contact with them and continue to provide necessary information that will be used as a tool to lobby with their colleagues in making WASH a hot cake at the National Legislature.

They however disclosed that all will be done from their end of the Legislature to persuade President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to issue the Executive Order for the establishment of a Water Supply & Sanitation Commission(WSSC).

The Legislators further encouraged the CSOs to always knock on their doors for their intervention whenever a new issue comes about relating to the WASH sector.

The WSSC is one of the several recommendations contained in the Liberia WASH Compact as an Institutional Firm Work to provide governance in the water and sanitation sector of the country.

At the end of their deliberation, the CSOs and Law Makers agreed to push for the amendment rules creating committees to facilitate the creation of a Standing Committee on WASH as a way of demonstrating both Houses’ political will in prioritizing WASH on their Legislative Agenda.

The Committee set up by the law makers and CSOs is headed by Montserrado County Representative, Saah Joseph.

Law Makers attending the dinner meeting include Representatives Thomas Fallah, Acarious Gray, Solomon George, Saah Joseph and A. Vamuyan Corneh of Montserrado County, Representative Garison Yalue of Nimba County, and Senators Peter Coleman and Sando Johnson of Bomi and Grand Kru Counties respectively.

The Liberia Civil Society Organizations WASH Network include “Citizens United to Promote Peace and Democracy in Liberia”, “WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia”, “Liberia NGOs Network”, “Women NGO Secretariat”, “Concerned Christian Community”, and Association of Evangelicals Liberia”, together with other County Based WASH CSO Chapters.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com

Mr. Apollos Nwafor, WaterAid Team Leader in Liberia and Sierra Leone spoke last Thursday at the close of a 3-day Programme Planning Meeting in Monrovia.

“We are going to increase our support both technical and financial to ensure that more people have access to safe drinking water, improved sanitation and hygiene services” said Mr. Nwafor.

He also assured that WaterAid will ensure that the poverty reduction strategy papers don’t remain on the shelves, but that results are seen, especially in the lives of the ordinary citizens.

About 13 Civil Society Organizations from Sierra Leone and Liberia convened from May 1-3, 2012 at the Corina Hotel in Monrovia to produce a 2-year new Action Plan for access to safe drinking Water, improved Sanitation and Hygiene in both countries.

“It was successful. We met with our partners and members of the government technical team and we were able to agree on priorities for the communities, districts and counties we will reach with safe drinking water, improved sanitation and hygiene services for this year” said the WaterAid Boss.

According to him, the session also agreed on accountability, mutual respect, and rights for women and children who suffered most from the lack of access to WASH as the sector’s key values to guide its partnership.

He said they further agreed for WaterAid to adequately fund its partners and required said partners to provide periodic comprehensive reports on time because their success stories would be shared with the government.

“We will come up with case studies that can inform policy changes with government and also come up with programs results that would help improve government responses to the need of the poor and excluded people in both countries” averred Mr. Nwafor.

He said WaterAid wants its partners to ensure that Communities, Districts, and Counties have their management structures and pump technicians trained to ensure that communities are open defecation freed and that women and children are saved from sanitation and water related diseases, and that most girls are able to go to school and that children don’t die before their 5th birthday.

According to him there will be construction of water facilities, community management structure setup, policies reviewed and policies engagement with the civil society network as well as working on the ‘Water For All’ partnership to ensure increase sector financing for water and sanitation.

“WaterAid will provide safe water and latrines in the communities, there will be institutional latrines for schools and not for household or family because the communities would collectively also get theirs instead .We are now moving into the communities. One key innovation is that we are taking up water and sanitation for all partnership as the key issue” Mr. Nwafor further averred.

Mr. Nwafor also noted that there will be engagements with the Liberian National Legislature to ensure Legislative support for water and sanitation, especially for poor people who lack access to safe water and improved sanitation services.

According to him, this year’s engagement with Legislators is to further strengthen of Legislative capacity to deliver on water and sanitation services.

“Yes, yes, Governments are highly cooperating and in fact WaterAid is working with the Ministries of Public Works and Health & Social Welfare as we as serving on the National Committee on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) promotion in both Liberia and Sierra Leone” said Mr. Nwafor

He pledged to support the Liberian government in developing its management information system under the Public Works Ministry to monitor the WASH Sector, adding “We will also support the campaign awareness and the productions of maps as a results of the water point mapping to ensure that there is success for poor people to receive safe water and improved sanitation services”.

The Planning Meeting further developed a joint monitoring plan including Partners Plans of actions (PPAs) and a Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) between WaterAid and partners.

According to a dispatch from the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia, the 3-day Meeting commenced on Tuesday morning (May 1, 2012) at the Corina Hotel in Sinkor, Monrovia and was sponsored and facilitated by WaterAid Liberia and Sierra Leone an international NGO championing the improvement of the WASH sector.

In his welcome remarks during the opening ceremony, WaterAid’s Team Leader for Liberia and Sierra Leone, Mr. Apollos Nwafor lauded both the CSOs and governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone for their continuous cooperation to improve the WASH sector.

He said improvement in the sector would save millions of lives, money and precious time and at the same time minimize poverty and illiteracy if everyone gets involved.

According to him, lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene could deny parents and students going about their regular business like going to school or work on time or best still bring about pandemic in their community.

Mr. Nwafor said the Meeting will help keep CSOs and governments focused on how to demonstrate their commitments in deeds for the betterment of people in both countries.

The WaterAid Boss clarified that although none of his partners has performed poorly last year, he would certificate partners who come up with innovative results that make impact on the lives of the people

According to the WASH R&E dispatch, UNICEF and Public Works Minister Samuel Kofi Woods could not grace the occasion due to other engagements.

At day-one session, participants reviewed last year plan of action and also examined the emerging challenges from the annual report.

They also made presentations of their individual Most Successful Challenging stories for 2011 while the WaterAid Boss expounded on his Organization’s partnership approach and procedures.

At day-two session, WaterAid’s Programme Officer for Liberia and Sierra Leone, Chuchu Selmah made presentation of WaterAid’s 2012 and 2013 Mid-year Planning Budget followed by the over 13 CSO WASH organizations making presentations of individual plans for 2012/2013.

The organizations include WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia, Liberia NGOs Networks, WASH CSOs Network-Liberia, HELP-Sierra Leone, CODES, Jejunum District Council, ERS, and MOPADA.

Others were WSD, Youth-Development Group, WASH Net-SL, New Era, Kenema District Council, among others. They discussed on plans and budgetary alignments while the working session reviewed key activities and budgets.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com

Minister, Samuel Kofi-Woods, speaking at the start of the High Level WASH Meeting in Washington D.C, USA. (Thanks to our U.S dispatch)

The Liberian government has expressed satisfaction for the level of global achievement for the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for drinking water and is calling for joint efforts in providing access to safe sanitation which according it say is more crucial in tackling killer diseases in developing countries.

The Liberian Government’s call was made by Public Works Minister, Samuel Kofi Woods when he proxy for President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (WASH Goodwill Ambassador for Africa) at the start of the High Level WASH Meeting on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All in Washington DC, the United States on Thursday.

Minister Woods said although significant progress has been made in achieving global percentage of the overall target for water, there are still over 783 million people that do not have access to safe water which 300 million of that number are to be found in Sub-Sahara Africa.

He indicated that the current rate at which Africa is moving at the sanitation front, it will take over 150 years or more to accomplish significant target which if imagine, the terrible consequences of any delay will create negative and downward trend in realizing the needed objective.

Minister Woods said, to mitigate the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) crisis in Liberia, the government of Liberia signed a Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership, an international platform aimed at achieving universal and sustainable access to sanitation and drinking water.

According to him, Liberia hosted a Joint Multi Donor Mission that resulted in the development of a Compact on Water and Sanitation which was adopted into Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy document. He further said the compact underscores the commitments of the Liberian Government and lays out a roadmap for improvement over the next two years.

Minister Woods also informed the gathering that Liberia plans to establish a Water Supply Board to ensure that the WASH sector is given an institutional home and top priority on the Country’s development agenda.

Other important supporting strategies, including the sector according to Minister Woods have been developed and will ensure that Liberia’s planning system at the highest level are able to guide and capture progress. “This is especially important because we want to ensure that the service reaches the poorest and most vulnerable group”, Minister Woods maintained.

“SWA is a global intergovernmental partnership that has brought us together and presents opportunities for innovative approaches. For example, the development of the WASH Compact in Liberia was carried out with support from Ghana, a clear illustration of South-South cooperation. We are adopting the same approach with Sierra Leone because we believe that other countries can learn and benefit from this approach”, Minister Woods further asserted.

Over sixty Ministers responsible for finance, sanitation and hygiene portfolios from over thirty countries including Liberia are participating in the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) 2-day High Level Meeting which commenced on April 19-20 at the World Bank in Washington, DC.

The aimed of the Meeting is to agree on urgent action towards ensuring that access to sanitation and safe drinking water becomes a reality for billions of people who still live without them.

The Public Works Minister used the occasion to invite and encourage other developing nations, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, to join the SWA partnership by making clear commitments for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), fundamental to reducing poverty and improving GDP. “I also want to encourage our development partners to ensure that their support and funding are targeted at countries where the need is greatest. Transparency and accountability must serve as guideposts in our actions”, Minister Woods indicated.

As success story continues to rise in the WASH sector in Liberia, Minister Woods shared with other governments the initiatives the Country has taken and said Liberia looks forward to learning from the exercise of others and what they can learn from the successes and challenges of the Nation. According to him, Liberia has not done all that needs to be done, but the Nation is well on its way.

He further said if they were to achieve the MDGs for water and sanitation in all the countries represented at the Meeting, it is estimated that they could save the lives of over 400,000 children by 2015 and make life better for hundreds of millions more.

Liberia success case was highlighted in several of the meetings especially the recent endorsed WASH compact by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

According to Darren Saywell, Vice Chair of SWA, Liberia has increased political prioritization and succeeded greatly in robust country planning in the WASH sector through a defined National Policy aimed at reconciling the sector in an appreciable level.

Former Ghanaian President, John Agyekum Kufuor, Chair of SWA highlighted the importance of the availability of safe drinking water to the sanitation need of the people. He expressed the hope for continuous commitment from both government and donor communities in accomplishing this noble objective.

The 2-Day Meeting highlighted government and donor success stories and by extension commitment in the Sanitation and Water front and the way forward.

Liberia was represented by Public Works Minister, Samuel Kofi woods, WaterAid Team Leader for Liberia and Sierra Leone, Apollos Nwafor, Assistant Public works Minister for Community Services, George Nyango, and the Chairman of the Liberia CSOs WASH Network, Prince D. Kreplah.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com

The delegates committed their Countries to ensuring WASH Sector Financing, Institutional Reforms and quality service provision for the wellbeing of their peoples.

According to a dispatch from WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia, the delegates made the commitment Thursday, at the close of the two day High Level Inter Ministerial WASH meeting held in Monrovia from March 21-22, 2012.

The Meeting was held under the chairmanship of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, WASH Goodwill Ambassador for Africa.

The Monrovia meeting prepares both Countries for the pending Global Sanitation and Water for all (SWA) Initiative Conference in Washington D.C from April 19-20, 2012.

Public Works Minister, Samuel Kofi Woods read the two-page Commitment Document labeled “Outcome document” of the Meeting.

According to the two-page Document which carries the Seals of both Countries (Liberian and Sierra Leone), the commitments are aimed at ensuring the promotion, availability, accessibility and affordability of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in both Countries.

The Document further states that the two Governments are committed to prioritize the allocation and utilization of financial resources for WASH within their Countries’ limited constraints.

In the Document, the Liberian government wants separate budget lines be included for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and also continuous support to the creation of a pooled fund mechanism for WASH to better manage resources from government and development partners.

Well, as part of efforts to ensuring quality service provision, the Liberian government is currently finalizing standards of service delivery including specification of construction of rural WASH facilities which will be published and enforced.

As regards Institutional Reform, the Liberian government says after allocation of 2012 budget, it will fast track the establishment of several issues including: (1) the National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Promotion Committee; (2) the Water Supply and Sanitation Commission, and (3) The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Bureau as well as committed to establish a Water and sanitation Board, as part of institutional changes.

For its part, the Government of Sierra Leone said it is committed to investigate the pooled fund mechanism for possible involvement aimed at moving the WASH sector forward.

Under the new agenda for prosperity, Sierra Leone has planned to increase resources to the WASH Sector and after the pending High Level Meeting in April 2012, it has further planned to create a separate budget line for sanitation in that neighboring Country.

The outcome Document indicates that Sierra Leone is undertaking a process to empower the District Council to deliver sanitation (including Waste Management) through increased resources, clarity of roles and responsibility and increased capacity to monitor and evaluate service delivery with a particular focus on Health facilities.

For Sierra Leone, the Government said it is committed to restructure the Environmental Sanitation Department both at National and District levels to raise the profile and resources for sanitation as a preventive health intervention.

Sierra Leonean counterpart commits to placing women at the centre of what they do, especially in terms of needs analysis and monitoring committees to ensure adequate service delivery at health facility level.

Speaking at the close of the two-Day Inter-Ministerial WASH High Level Meeting, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said the two-day Meeting of Ministers from two neighboring Countries will contribute immensely to the WASH Sector of both Countries.

Also speaking, Sierra Leone Minister of Health and Sanitation, Madame Zainab Bangura said her Country has learnt a lot from its Liberian Counterpart relative to putting in place institutional framework to move the WASH Sector forward.

Under the commitments, both Governments will allocate and utilize their resources for the WASH sector and to create a pooled fund mechanism for Water, sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) to adequately manage resources from Government and development partners.

Also, according to the Document, both Governments are to establish and restructure existing Institutions like “Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Bureau”, “National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Committee” including the “Environmental Sanitation Department”, among others.

On the issue of ensuring quality service provision, the delegates want women to be placed at the center to analyze and monitor various Committees to ensure adequate service delivery at Health facility level.

During the 2-day WASH High Level Inter-Ministerial Meeting, the Liberian and Sierra Leonean WASH Networks including the Civil Society Organizations WASH Working Group also presented a seven-count joint statement in which they request both governments to increase public spending on WASH to ensure compliance to the eThequini Declaration.

They CSO Groups also want the two Governments cut taxes on WASH related importations and to address the funding gaps as well as accelerate access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in poor Communities.

The two-page statement signed by the Chairman of Liberia CSOs WASH Working Group, Prince D. Kreplah, and Executive Secretary for WASH-Net of Sierra Leone, Victor Lansana Koroma, further want WASH prioritize in National Development Agenda and a Multi-Stakeholder approach in addressing challenges in the WASH Sector.

President Sirleaf chaired the Meeting, while the technical sessions were chaired by the Health Minister of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mrs. Bangura, UNICEF-Country Director Isabel Crowley, WaterAid Team Leader for Liberia and Sierra Leone, Apollos Nwafor including his colleague, Nelson Gomonda, and Madam Margaret Kilo of the African Development Bank, among several others.

Representatives of AFDB, DFID, UNICEF, USAID, and the Consortium and WaterAid graced the occasion. During the Meeting, a Short drama on the theme: “Water and Food Security”, was staged by the Liberian National Culture Troupe.

The Meeting was jointly organized by WaterAid and UNICEF, as part of the celebration marking World Water Day.

Several other activities were also held in Monrovia, Liberia, as part of the celebration marking World Water Day beginning with the “official opening of the Central Offices of the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia on Monday, March 19, 2012”, “a WASH Media Interactive Conference with Public Works Minister, Samuel Kofi Woods and other WASH Partners from Liberia and Sierra Leone on Tuesday, March 20, 2012”, “a One day Orientation Workshop for Members of the WASH Reporters & Editors Network-Liberia on Tuesday, March 20, 2012”, and “a 2-day Inter-Ministerial WASH Conference chaired by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on March 21-22, 2012” respectively.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com

We are facing a number of monitoring challenges in drinking water supply and rural sanitation in India. This generally is hampering the overall pace of water sanitation infrastructure development to achieve the targets in access to safe water and availability of sustainable sanitation. In this article I will discuss the developmental processes and monitoring systems with regard to rural water supply and sanitation in India.

The efficiency and effectiveness of created assets in water supply systems has become contentious given the monitoring systems we have in India. The 73^rd Constitutional Amendment of India states that the state/provincial governments should transfer the responsibility of drinking water supply, particularly operation & maintenance to PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institution-local governments) through a state level rural water supply policy in the context to reform principles through an integrated approach, as prescribed by the Government of India. It suggests the provisions of an independent agency for such project monitoring and financial management for source sustainability with village level committees.

Our national government also has plans for ensuring monitoring mechanisms, training agencies, computerized MIS (Management Information System) from GP (Gram Panchayat-Village Government) to national level but, there are abysmal evidences of checks and balances for cross-verification of field reports and inter-agency coordination.

Apart from MIS and computerization, the Government of India has planned interactive websites and knowledge bank development by state governments with its full financial support, but, there is hardly any state that has such websites in place by now.

To be frank, it sometime appears that in the water and sanitation sector in India, we either don’t have competent professionals or they are not able to implement and monitor the projects/programmes effectively.

Evidences have shown that the discourse of decentralized governance system in the water and sanitation sector and its implementation had many facets of successes and failures in India, and that they mostly depend on the programme implementation strategy and the understanding of water and sanitation issues among donor, facilitators and implementers.

When we talk about the existing capacity of PRIs on water and sanitation facility development and management, there is no denying that in the world’s largest democracy, the Panchayati Raj offers tremendous potential to make a positive difference. Therefore, how this potential will be realized, depends on how well our Panchayats are empowered by means of funds, functions and functionaries, in terms of project implementation and monitoring process.

Many such projects implemented around the world have established that community-based participatory approaches, those that involved robust informative, investigative and analytical monitoring tool, have proved its importance in sustaining project efforts and their wider use. Let the communities be involved systematically in creating and managing their assets, analyze their problems and identify possible solutions, and to marshal the resources necessary to implement and manage.

For the development of a robust monitoring system we need a robust institutional mechanism and coordination among national and state governments and water sector agencies. For example, when a village level functionary reports the coverage of water and sanitation facility in a village or habitation, he should be made responsible for such reports and there should be cross checks and spot checks for such reporting systems and this should go on up to the level of the responsible officer at the block, district and state levels. Similarly, the efficiency of MIS and computerization at district level need a thorough review in terms of their effectiveness and timeliness.

I appreciate the efforts of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in improving its website and content in general. But, the status of MIS system is such that for over years we could neither develop a robust MIS system nor is it even reflected in the present IMIS system of Government of India.  I say this by quoting an example on water supply coverage in some states, and there are discrepancies in reporting the coverage within different parts of its website. For example, on the water supply status of Himalayan states like Uttarakhand and Mizoram you will get different coverage figures in IMISReport/NRWPdistrictmain and IMIS reports/reports/profile.

We need to also consider that unlike earlier systems of Monitoring and Evaluation that was done by a separate wing of the Rural Development Department for Water and Sanitation facilities in India, it is now carried out by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation itself.  This will help in improving various important technical, administrative, coordination and reporting issues in reporting district to state level data.

As discussed, when we have policy provisions for computerization from Gram Panchayat to the national level, in my opinion, each Gram Panchayat should have its own paid data entry operator (DEO) who should be linked with district, state and national level monitoring system. The DEO will not only be helpful in reporting water and sanitation status but in all other rural development programmes.

The people in the villages could report their problems they face in their water supply systems to him/her, and through a participatory operation & maintenance mechanism, things could be solved as per the decision and needs of the PRI itself. If needed, the help from district or state officials could be taken.

AUTHOR: K. N. Vajpai
URL: http://vajpai.org and http://chimalaya.org
E-MAIL: knvajpai [at] climatehimalaya.net

Liberian President, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

The President of the Republic of Liberia, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has finally signed the much talked about Liberia WASH Compact which was developed at the Multi Donor Conference on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) held at the S.K.D Spokes Complex in Paynesville, outside Monrovia last year May.

The Liberia WASH Compact is a product of the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Partnership aimed at ensuring that the Liberian population can have adequate access to safe water and improved sanitation facilities.

A release from the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia quotes the National Water Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Committee under the leadership of the Public Works Ministry as saying President Johnson-Sirleaf who is WASH Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, signed the Compact last week.

The Liberia WASH Compact outlines the commitment to meet the MDGs challenges through partnership between Government, the Private Sector, Civil Society, Development Partners and the Media.

The President said recognizing that the challenges being addressed by the Liberian WASH Compact are shared by other Countries in the Region, the Government of Liberia will ensure the learning and successes of the Compact are disseminated in order to accelerate attainment of WASH objectives among Nations in the Mano River Union and ECOWAS.

President Johnson-Sirleaf believes that the Liberia WASH Compact will galvanize action in the WASH Sector and result in real improvements in access to safe water and sanitation for the people of Liberia.

The Compact builds on the development of several key WASH Sector Policies and Regulations which are essential for implementation to ensure that water and sanitation facilities are accessible, affordable and available to both rural and urban Communities.

Meanwhile, WASH Sector Actors in Liberia are commanding the President for the signing of the WASH Compact describing it as a demonstration of her commitment to the health and well being of the Nation.

The National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Committee under the leadership of the Public Works Ministry says the Liberia WASH Compact has been endorsed at the highest level and reiterates its continued support and commitment to the implementation of the WASH Compact and supporting the President in ending WASH poverty in Liberia.

The Liberian WASH Sector Actors welcome the move that only two days after her inauguration, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia demonstrated her commitment to the health and well being of the Nation by signing the Liberia WASH Compact. This endorsement is greatly appreciated by the WASH Sector Actors who wish to say, “Thank you,” to Her Excellency.

The WASH Sector Actors said the Liberia WASH Compact is a document that maps out four priority areas which will ensure that citizens of Liberia have access to safe, clean water and improved sanitation facilities.

According to them, these are in the form of the following commitments for sector stakeholders to establish and strengthen the institutional capacity of the sector, ensure equity and prioritized service provision, develop a monitoring system and improve the financing mechanisms.

The WASH Compact was developed by a team that included representatives from Government Ministries, Civil Society, Development Partners, UN Agencies and the Private Sector.

The Liberia WASH Compact provides a clear action plan which, with the coordinated response of the WASH Actors and the President’s endorsement, will result in increased efforts to improve water and sanitation facilities for the citizens of Liberia.

The WASH Sector Actors in Liberia are meanwhile encouraging everyone to read the signed Liberia WASH Compact available at www.wash-liberia.org.

The signing of the Liberia WASH Compact follows almost two months of intensive advocacy by the Liberia CSOs WASH Working Group for the President to sign the Compact.

The advocacy was done through series of WASH Crisis Talks around the Country, during which time the citizens challenged and urged the Liberian President to sign the Liberia WASH Compact in the interest of the State and people.

At one of the Crisis Talk Programs in Western Liberia, citizens of Gbarpolu County called on the Liberian Chief Executive, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to sign the Liberia WASH Compact, which they believe is the first step towards addressing coordination, governance and financing challenges facing the Sector.

The Gbarpolu County WASH Crisis Talk organized by the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia (WASH R&E), “a Member of the Liberia CSOs WASH Working Group”, pointed out that the signing of the Compact will boost the Liberian WASH Sector faced with fragmentation, inadequate funding, policy limitation and data challenge which continue to undermine the Sector.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com

The UNICEF country representative stated that, at any one time, half of all hospital beds in developing countries are filled with people suffering from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related diseases, and some 443 million school days are lost due to associated illnesses.

“All around the world, governments have adopted Global Hand Washing Day as a national celebration, ensuring that hand washing with soap is practiced and promoted throughout the year, and not just on October 15th.

“Today’s celebration is a clear testimony of the Gambia government’s continued commitment and support to create a better life for all children in the country through improved hygiene practices,” she added.

“We know that the simple act of hand-washing with soap can reduce the incidence of respiratory infections by nearly 25 percent among children under five. The second largest killer of children under five is diarrheal disease, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 1 million children every year – this is more than AIDS and malaria combined,” she said, adding that hand-washing with soap can reduce the rate of diarrhoea of children by almost 50 percent.

Madam Diawara-Flambert further stated that in many developing countries, such as The Gambia, it is not the lack of soap that is usually the problem.

“The vast majority of poor households have soap in the homes, but this soap is often intended for purposes other than hand washing,” she noted.

She said promising innovations and partnerships, like the public private partnership for the promotion of hand-washing, are required to achieve our goal.

“The use of market techniques can also be influential in motivating people to practise hand-washing with soap. We need to combine and strengthen our efforts to scale up hand-washing with soap, as well as successfully reach the Gambian children who are dying from diarrhea and pneumonia, and the Gambian population as a whole,” she concluded.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com

Garbage beside residential housing structures are common

In countries where waste is not wasted, tonnes of energy are generated for use in hospitals and laboratories for warming, and in kitchens where it replaces the conventional cooking gas. A significant proportion of cheap energy can be available for such uses if the tons of waste and garbage produced by Douala households were to be recycled, or simply transformed. Yet, waste continues to be a source of public health concerns in the economic capital. Of the 1200 tonnes of waste said to be collected daily, a lethal 400 tonnes are still uncollected and they have for some time now burden Douala through largest known outbreaks such as plague, cholera, typhoid fever or diarrhea, 50 years after independence. As a result, slum neighbourhoods are fountains for the human and economic loss that has waved across the city.

It was little known that communal character could influence an entire city population to such an extent. The recent cholera outbreak proved that personal behavior vis-à-vis food should not only be the cause for public health concerns but that a community may equally be informed of the good it does – first to itself, then the general public – when its wastes are properly disposed or simply assembled in places accessible to collection by the Hygiene and Sanitation Company, HYSCAM.

Unsafe characteristics of city life, including; the slum habitation of Mabanda (Bonaberi) and New Bell, the squatter colonies of the marshy Nylon, and the emptying of waste and garbage in unauthorized places (gutters, ditches, streams, water, sewage sometimes burnt in the open air polluting the atmosphere), according to Ecologists and Human Rights Promoter and President of the NGO, Organisation of Human Rights and Citizens’ Protection, Prince Kemajou Raoul Nasser, have laid their foundations in Douala. The situation is even more acute in neighborhoods like Bilongué, Madagascar, and Brazzaville (Nylon) coupled with the precarious living conditions and non-existence of a system of sewage disposal, as well as septic tanks. Douala once described by the NGO as “The cemetery of plastic waste” was in allusion to these neighbourhoods. The unhealthy piles of garbage found in Douala II and III council areas is, indeed, the source of the proliferation of flies and mosquitoes that first contact with excreta, then contaminate food. During the rainy season, the various wastes are carried to the wells and unprotected sources of drinking water by runoff from rainfall. The same applies to the flow of waste from leaking sewers.

An official of HYSACAM said, more than 1500 tonnes of waste (excluding industrial waste) is produced everyday in Douala, of which just 1200 tonnes are collected and properly disposed of. “At least 400 tonnes is left uncollected because of inaccessibility of some quarters by our close to 100 garbage pick-up trucks and 1100 employees.” Prince Kemajou Raoul Nasser refutes the figures: “From statistical and demographic survey, garbage collection covers only 40%, meaning that 750,000 tonnes of waste are collected per year of the 2 million tonnes produced annually – not including industrial waste. At least 45 million kg is produced per month. Each citizen produces on average 500 grams of organic liquid waste per day. Still millions of tonnes have not been collected for years now, meaning that efforts and capacities ought to be doubled to meet the real needs of waste collection in the city.”

Faced with this inadequacy, pre-garbage collection and drainage of wastewater should be built up in slum neighborhoods. The poor must not remain passive. They must often deal with their problems.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com

• What is sanitation?
• What is personal hygiene and what is the function of water in it?
• How can I contribute to help the water stressed world?

Can we think for a second a situation where a thirsty and weary child gets 1 liter of water first time in a day? What do you think she will do – wash her hands first or drink it? Below a threshold of water availability personal hygiene makes no sense. I do not feel convinced about it because I have seen people, human beings, drinking water from a turbid puddle side by side with animals. I dare not talk personal hygiene to them.

If you carry 15 liters of water on your back from couple of kilometers away walking over rough terrain on a scorchy day, I feel quite doubtful if half a liter of that will be used for sanitation.

Contribute? In Sub-Saharan Africa disputes over water lead to drawing out of knives. There is no question of contribution in a place where water is a prized possession, a means to survival. It’s a fancy word for a developed, civil world, a world with exquisite abundance.

The above debates only become meaningful if we ask the first question first. What is the minimum amount of water for my personal use? It also makes clear how sincere I am about water and the whole mind-blowing inequity about it in the world. So help me find out how much water I need at the minimum for my personal use.

I get stuck up here. I do not like the word ‘personal’. Persons are not same all over the world, they are not equal. They come in different sizes, genders, ages, cultures, weathers and most importantly with economic capabilities. Persons are as different as lives are. Aren’t they?

Ok. Let’s by-pass the problem by taking one human being, a physiological body, say average age 30 (if we make mistake by not including children at least our estimate will be on the conservative side).

• Need 1: Drinking. An average human being lasts 7 days most without drinking water. So how much water this human guinea pig needs for healthy life? 6 liters the most.
• Need 2: Personal hygiene. Two showers a day, 30 liters each. 20 instances of hand washing, face washing, sprinkling water over body, 2 liters each. That’s 100 liters of water.
• Need 3: Cooking: For 800 gm.s of cooked food for one day 1 liter of water.
• Need 4: Washing: 5 liters for plates and cooking utensils, 10 liters for clothes.
• Need 5: Sanitation: Two sessions on throne, 15 liters each for flushing. 10 sessions on urinals, 5 liters each. That’s 80 liters of water.

So, 202 liters for basic physiological and healthy living needs, say 200 liters.

According to Professor Malin Falkenmark of the Stockholme International Water Institute, 100 liters is the minimum per capita per day water requirement for our basic water requirement (BWR). I am by no means an expert, and I appear to have made some mistake on the higher side. I hope my estimate can be taken as ‘fairly’ conservative. So for awhile let us go by it.

I would like to put an ethical question before my readers. If I am currently using 600 liters daily for my personal use and considering the gravity of the water stress looming over the world, cut down on my use by 50%, that is, start using 300 liters from tomorrow, how will you rate my sacrifice?

a)  Real philanthropy and a great act for humanity.

b)  Cutting down my excess but still using some excess.

c) Indirectly helping my energy hungry, growth seeking society channeling my personal saving into making some more consumables and make some more business, given that I ‘may’ not really trust ‘virtual water’ (that is, say,  a saving here in Lalaland is not going to be physically piped to Island Ibiza).

Think about it.

Cross posted from Think About It – Water

Feature Photo Credit: Global Angels

AUTHOR: Pabitra Mukhopadhyay
URL: http://pabitraspeaks.com
E-MAIL: mukhopadhyay.pabitra [at] gmail.com