 What we do |
Urban
For the first time in history, the majority of people now lives in urban centers. Across the world, the growth of cities and towns is rapidly increasing not only through rural to urban migration but also through population growth. In the developing world, urban environments pose a huge and growing challenge. Many urban areas are unplanned, very densely populated and unserved by even the most basic water and sanitation infrastructure. It is estimated that between 30 and 60% of the urban population of sub-Saharan Africa has no access to the municipal water supply. Where there is no safe water supply, people either collect from polluted sources or rely on vendors selling expensive water of dubious and unverified origin. A lack of sanitation facilities means that streets are turned into sites of open defecation and drainage channels become full of untreated sewage. Urban water utilities are in urgent need of reform. Across all our country programs we are working to secure the financial and operational autonomy of utilities from political interference and ensure a clear performance contract between the utility and the Government. A complicating factor is the issue of land rights. The land on which many unplanned, or slum, settlements are built does not legally belong to the inhabitants and so governments are usually reluctant to recognize their formal existence and therefore provide basic services. However, WaterAid's partners have had success in slum areas in Bangladesh where people demonstrated their ability to pay their water bills, and so with our partner as guarantor, a connection to the municipal water supply and tariffs was made. WaterAid is now spending 30% of its expenditure on urban work and this looks set to rise. Along with enabling access to water, sanitation and hygiene education we are also supporting our partners in providing wider services like garbage disposal, mass hygiene education campaigns and communal shower and clothes washing blocks.
|
||||
|
|
|
