Over 150 delegates including, ministers, CSO leaders and experts in water and sanitation have converged in the Tunisian capital Tunis for the meeting to launch the Regional Coordination Committee of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI).
RWSSI was launched in 2003 by the African Development Bank with an overall goal of universal access to water supply and sanitation services for the rural populations by 2025 with an immediate target of 80 percent coverage by 2015.
Delegates at the conference going on at Ramada Plaza in Tunis heard from various dignitaries including Bai Mass Taal, the Executive Secretary for African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW).
Taal noted that AMCOW had adopted RWSSI in recognition of the need to focus on this under-prioritized subsector.
While presenting the Terms of References for Regional Coordination Committee, Osward Mulenga Chanda, the Manager for Water and…
One of the challenges facing the Water sector in rural areas in Uganda is the non-functionality of hand pumps due unaffordable hand pump spare parts and limited financial base for paying the hand pump mechanics (HPM) and hence a major hindrance in the access to safe and clean water.
Francis Mujuni, Northern Region Coordinator, Uganda Water Sanitation and Hygiene Project, World Vision Uganda
Rural poverty, although not homogeneous, is deep and widespread. The widely cited “dollar-a-day” poverty measure conceals the fact that individuals in many rural Ugandan households handle cash sums much smaller than a dollar. Households and communities where income-generating opportunities are very limited simply cannot pay the tariffs required for hand pump operation and maintenance (O&M). Cash which is always scarce is used for very essential commodities like food and shelter but not for water which traditionally has always been seen as a “God given gift” to humanity to be enjoyed naturally by everyone, freely! Continue reading “Promising solutions for Operations and Maintenance in rural Uganda”
By Trupthi Basavaraj and Rachel Findlay,
New Philanthropy Capital
When confronted by the sheer scale of the issues facing the water sector in developing countries, it is hard not to feel a little bit powerless. Globally, 780 million people, amounting to 11% of the world’s population, use unsafe drinking water or have no water source at all, and it has become increasingly apparent that more traditional models of water delivery are not always the most viable solution. It is estimated, for example, that 40% of the pumps built in Africa are broken at any given point, and each pump can take up to a month to be repaired.
Rural Water Supply Network - blog 