Tapiwa Gomo, Lusaka
The provision of water and sanitation is the beginning of poverty reduction among poor communities. This was the message sent by Dr. Mukesh Kapila, the International Federation’s Special Representative for HIV and AIDS during the signing of a Contribution Agreement between the International Federation and the European Commission in Lusaka, Zambia.
Under the Agreement, which is under the 1st Call for Proposals for Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific - European Union (ACP-EU) Water Facility, the European Commission will provide euro1.84 million from the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) to support water and sanitation interventions in Zambia implemented by the Zambia Red Cross with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the British and Swedish Red Cross societies.
The project is co-financed with the Federation who will contribute euro610,000, bringing the total project cost to euro2.45 million (US$3.2 million).
Zambia lies in Sub-Saharan Africa which represents about 11 percent of the world population, but almost a third of all people without access to safe drinking water live here.
The region has the lowest water and sanitation coverage in the world, with Zambia only having a national coverage of 50% for both water and sanitation. The situation is worse in rural areas, especially in the southern region where the project will be implemented.
“All these low water and sanitation statistics come against a backdrop of high HIV and AIDS prevalence, and a rise in the number of orphans and vulnerable children who need to walk long distances to fetch water and sometimes miss out on school,” said Dr Mukesh Kapila who had just arrived from a field visit to familiarize himself with Zambia Red Cross projects in Kapiri Mposhi, 200km north of Lusaka.
“I have just come from a community where I met a 16 year old girl called Memory. She is an orphan and staying alone. She fetches water some five kilometers away from the place she stays. Instead of concentrating on her education, she has to walk the long distance to fetch water for household use. Memory’s situation represents the sad reality that thousands of children in these communities face,” said Dr. Kapila.
This coupled with the burden of HIV and AIDS, poverty and the need for water and sanitation among Zambian communities, indeed justifies this joint initiative from the European Commission and the International Federation.
The overall objective of the ACP-EU Water Facility is to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development through the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water and sanitation.
Mr. Rafael Aguirre Unceta, the European Commission Head of Operations in Zambia also insisted on the need to urgently address water and sanitation in Zambia.
“The objective of the project, over a period of three years, is to develop sound and sustainable environmental services comprising safe water supply, functional latrines and sanitation, and hygiene promotion for the vulnerable population in Sinazongwe and Choma Districts in the Southern Province of Zambia,” he said.
The project will benefit 90 000 people, including people living with HIV, orphans and other vulnerable members of the community especially those under the Red Cross home-based care programme.
Just a few days before the signing of the agreement, the Zambia Red Cross launched a five year HIV and AIDS appeal for CHF50 million.
One of the objectives of this appeal is to encourage home-based care clients, orphans and vulnerable children and HIV affected households to adopt hygienic and safe sanitation practices.
This will be done through various strategies which include sensitizing and educating communities on good hygienic practices in and around installed water points, training volunteers on good hygiene and safe sanitation practices at homes, and providing hygiene materials to clients and their families.
This home-based care programme in Zambia is linked to food security and nutrition activities such as nutrition gardening, seed distribution, and provision of high-energy food parcels, water and sanitation initiatives.
“It is through such projects that some of these objectives will be reached and that way, it will not only provide water and sanitation but a source of livelihood thereby contributing towards poverty reduction and sustainable development among the poor communities,” concludes Dr. Kapila.