Lesotho appears to be on track for meeting the MDG of halving the number of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015. Lesotho had managed to improve its sanitation coverage from 15 percent to 48 percent in rural areas, and from 22 percent to 82 percent in urban areas. At the SADC Water Resources, Sanitation and Hygiene Fair (WARSH) held in Harare, Zimbabwe, delegates heard that sustained political leadership, private sector support and community empowerment were underpinning Lesotho's success in the field.

South Africa is also still on track for achieving the MDG goal. Other SADC countries with low sanitation coverage had been affected by inconsistent levels of government and donor support, influenced by declining economies, natural disasters, conflict, political instability and high population growth. Water and sanitation schemes involving community participation had, therefore, not received sufficient priority.

Sanitation coverage in Mozambique, Angola and Namibia stood at less than 32 per cent in 2002, and sanitation improvement rates for all three were among the lowest in the world, according to the MDG Mid-Assessment Report for the period 1990-2002.

Previously extensive donor participation in water and sanitation measures in Zimbabwe had been scaled back from about 2000, due to concern over human rights and governance issues. Sanitation coverage was presently at 38 percent.

Contact: Ireen Mangoro, (IWSD Zimbabwe), Coordinator WARSH Fair, fax: 263-4-738120, warsh@iwsd.co.zw, http://www.iwsd.co.zw/WARSH/

Source: IRIN News, 27 Sep 2004

Tags: sanitation