Water, hygiene and sanitation coverage data
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| Water coverage in Burkina Faso is currently 51% |
| Credit: WaterAid / Suzanne Porter |
The General Directorate for Safe Water Supply (DGAEP) in Burkina Faso has identified 32 924 sustainable water points in its 2002 assessment, including:
There are also 75 stand-alone water points and 158 simplified water supply systems.
The directorate estimates the rural area coverage rate with one point for every 300 people that have access to 20 litres of water per day. However, the directorate's rural coverage rate can be used to show 100% coverage which is not an accurate measure of accessibility to water. This approach contradicts the real access rate to water. In 1994 and 1998, the National Statistics and Population Department estimated coverage at 50-60% in rural areas and 60-70% in small towns.
The directorate's coverage rate also ignores disparities among provinces (25 out of 45 provinces have a coverage rate exceeding 100%, and the water coverage varies from 39% in Banwa province to 166% in Yagha province).
The national water company, National Office for Water and Sanitation (ONEA), manages 36 water supply systems and six waterpoints in urban and semi-urban areas. In 2002 they supplied 67 000 customers and reached a 30% connection rate in Ouagadougou with 1 600 operational standpipes. Coverage rate is about 78% in urban areas and varies between 60 to 70% when all zones covered by ONEA are considered.
Coverage in sanitation
A joint report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have estimated the coverage rate of waste water and human waste management at 30%. Only urban areas are provided with facilities for managing rain water.
A project to improve urban living conditions funded by the World Bank has provided Ouagadougou with a master plan for managing rain water and a program of primary and secondary gutter-building is in place. These facilities are generally found in housing estates and wealthy districts.
Needs in water, hygiene and sanitation for the coming years
In 2004 , WHO and UNICEF estimated that an average of 15 million US dollars will need to be invested in the water and sanitation sector in rural areas between 2003 and 2009. This investment is needed to build 3 387 new boreholes, rehabilitate 1 454 existing ones, create 202 new simplified water systems and rehabilitate 12 water networks. In urban areas, an investment programme worth US $34 million has been designed to cover nine new towns. This will require an annual investment of US $29 million.
Financing and constraints on achieving the Millenium Development Goals
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are international targets to halve world poverty by 2015, agreed upon by all 189 United Nations member states at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000.
WaterAid's work makes a significant contribution to reaching the goals especially through actions to halve the proportion of people without access to safe water and sanitation, which are specific targets within goal seven.
Regarding water in Burkina Faso, the 2004 calculations from the joint report of WHO and UNICEF show an approximate annual investment of US $40-50 million is needed to meet the MDGs by year 2015. As progress in 2004 was not fully achieved, these funding needs are likely to increase by 10-15 % annually.
A sanitation strategy review was planned in 2005 to provide the rural area with its own program. Estimates set the annual funding needs of this sector at US $8-17 million.
Looking at funds raised over the past nine years, US $15 million in rural areas and US $30-50 million in urban areas, Burkina Faso will only be able to achieve the MDG if the current funding level is increased.
Any gap that remains will certainly occur in rural areas and small towns where the 202 waterpoints planned for 2003-2009 are insufficient to meet the growing population's needs. A further 50 facilities per year need to be planned.
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