scholarly journals Inequalities in access to water and soap matter for the COVID-19 response in sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Safia S. Jiwani ◽  
Daniel A. Antiporta
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals “They Do Not Care about Us Anymore”: Understanding the Situation of Older People in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2337
Author(s):  
Joseph Asumah Braimah ◽  
Mark W. Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Poor Access ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Sharing Circles

While existing research acknowledges copious challenges faced by older adults (people aged 60 and over) in Ghana and most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, they fail to situate the lived experiences of this vulnerable group within the broader context of health geography and public health. This paper draws insights from ecological systems theory and the “geographies of older people” literature to examine the lived experiences of older people in Ghana. Data for the study were gathered using interviews (42) and sharing circles (10). Our findings reveal a complex mix of experiences consistent with the different levels of the environment. Dominant themes include access to social support, functional impairment and poor health status, social status, poor access to water and sanitation services, food insecurity, economic insecurity, and caregiving burden. These findings support the wide-held notion that the experiences of older people are complex and produced by the interplay of both individual and structural factors. Our findings demonstrate that sociocultural, economic, political, and climatic factors are important consideration in promoting elderly wellbeing and quality of life in Ghana.

Self Supply

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Sutton ◽  
John Butterworth
Keyword(s):  
Universal Access ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Public Provision ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Water Provision

While governments and development partners focus on improving community and utility-managed water supplies to ensure access for all, hundreds of millions of people are taking actions to supply their own water. In the WASH sector household investment in construction and improvement of facilities is widely employed in sanitation but in water similar efforts are ignored. Recognition of the contribution of self-supply towards universal access to water and its full potential, is hampered by a lack of data, analysis and guidance. This well-reasoned source book highlights the magnitude of the contribution of self-supply to urban and rural water provision world-wide, and the gains that are possible when governments recognise and support household-led supply development and up-grading. With limited public finances in low- (and many middle-) income countries, self-supply can fill gaps in public provision, especially amongst low-density rural populations. The book focuses on sub-Saharan Africa as the region with the greatest predicted shortfall in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for water. Household supplies can be created, or accelerated to basic or safely managed levels, through approaches that build on the investment and actions of families, with the availability of technology options and cost-effective support from the private and public sectors. The role of self-supply needs greater recognition and a change in mindset of governments, development partners and practitioners if water services are to be extended to all and no-one is to be left behind.

Improved African infrastructure will be key to growth

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sovereign Wealth Funds ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Insurance Firms ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Private Financing ◽  
Ssa Countries

Subject Infrastructure outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. Significance Africa's infrastructure needs are under increasing scrutiny after several recent high-profile summits, as well as visits by international leaders to the continent. Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries need to invest collectively an estimated 130-170 billion dollars per year to maintain and enhance transportation networks, achieve near 100% electrification and 100% access to water and sanitation. However, SSA faces an annual deficit of more than 68 billion dollars unless financing commitments increase sharply. Impacts A growing number of international insurance firms are likely to invest in regional and continent-wide infrastructure funds. Sovereign wealth funds could lead the private financing drive as they face fewer restrictions than pension funds and invest long-term. Amid growing African debt levels, development banks and multilateral bodies will increasingly support private infrastructure deals.

scholarly journals Adapting pastoral breeding to global changes in West and Central tropical Africa: Review of ecological views

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-159
Author(s):  
Pierre Hiernaux ◽  
Mohamed Habibou Assouma
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
International Investments ◽  
Livestock Breeding ◽  
Societal Changes ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan

Pastoral livestock is defined as a reproduction-oriented, grazing-based familial livestock system with community-managed resources. Pastoral breeders differ from one another in the diversity of species and breeds raised, the size and management of herds and the extent of their regional mobility. The social, economic and environmental weight of pastoralist livestock in West and Central sub-Saharan Africa is evoked together with its imputation of environmental degradation. Global changes faced by pastoral livestock are sorted out by domains, climatic and societal, and by time scales, short or long. The incriminated impacts of livestock on ecosystems are assessed in the short and long terms. The functions of pastoral breeding already affected by global changes whether climatic or societal are analyzed. The capacity of two alternative livestock breeding systems, ranching and stall-feeding, to respond to these constraints is reviewed. Finally, pastoral breeding has been recognized as being able to adapt best to long-term climate change and to short- and long-term societal changes, provided that national and international investments are made. Civil security must be restored and pastoralists’ access to water and fodder resources must be secured. Professional organizations and associations should be empowered to negotiate grazing rights, and their skills should be enhanced. There is the need to complete, rehabilitate and manage hydraulic and veterinary infrastructures, but also to invest significantly in adapted health, education and communication infrastructures in long-neglected pastoral areas.

scholarly journals Disparate on-site access to water, sanitation, and food storage heighten the risk of COVID-19 spread in Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 189 ◽  
pp. 109936
Author(s):  
Bernard Ekumah ◽  
Frederick Ato Armah ◽  
David Oscar Yawson ◽  
Reginald Quansah ◽  
Florence Esi Nyieku ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Food Storage ◽  
Site Access ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Access to water, sanitation and hygiene services in health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa 2013–2018: Results of health facility surveys and implications for COVID-19 transmission

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mufaro Kanyangarara ◽  
Savannah Allen ◽  
Safia S Jiwani ◽  
David Fuente
Keyword(s):  
Health Facility ◽  
Infection Prevention ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Standard Precautions ◽  
Running Water ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted important needs in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and standard practices for infection prevention and control in sub-Saharan Africa. We assessed the availability of WASH and standard precautions for infection prevention in health facilities across 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as inequalities by location (rural/urban) and managing authority (public/private). Data from health facility surveys conducted between 2013 and 2018 in 18 sub-Saharan African countries were used to estimate the access to an improved water source within 500 m, an improved toilet, soap and running water or alcohol-based hand rub, and standard precautions for infection prevention at health facilities. Rural-urban differences and public-private differences in access to services were calculated. We also compared population level access to health facility access to services. Result Overall, 16,456 health facilities from 18 countries were included. Across countries, an estimated 88 % had an improved water source, 94 % had an improved toilet, 74 % had soap and running water or alcohol-based hand rub, and 17 % had standard precautions for infection prevention available. There was wide variability in access to water, sanitation and hygiene services between rural and urban health facilities and between public and private facilities, with consistently lower access in both rural and public facilities. In both rural and urban areas, access to water, sanitation and hygiene services was ubiquitously better at health facilities than households. Conclusions Availability of WASH services in health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa has improved but remains below the global target of 80 % in many countries. Ensuring adequate access to WASH services and enforcing adherence to safety and hygiene practices in health facilities will be essential to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

scholarly journals Water-related factors and childhood diarrhoea in African informal settlements. A cross-sectional study in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 562-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphanie Dos Santos ◽  
François de Charles Ouédraogo ◽  
Abdramane Bassiahi Soura
Keyword(s):  
Informal Settlement ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Water Access ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Single Measure ◽  
Childhood Diarrhoea ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Settlement Areas

Improved access to water is a key factor in reducing diarrhoeal diseases, a leading cause of death among children in sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of water access, sub-Saharan African cities are some of the worst off in the world, with 20% of populations supplied by an unimproved water source. This situation is even worse in informal settlement areas. Using cross-sectional data on access to water from a survey implemented in three informal neighbourhoods of the Ouagadougou Health and Demographic Surveillance System, logistic regressions are modelled to test the effect of different modalities of access to water on childhood diarrhoea. Our results show that the prevalence of diarrhoea in children is high: one-third of households with a child under 10 experienced an episode of childhood diarrhoea during the 2 weeks preceding the survey, even though 91% of the households surveyed have access to an improved water source. The results show that efforts to reduce childhood morbidity would be greatly enhanced by strengthening piped water access in informal settlement areas in Africa. In addition, this study confirms that, beyond the single measure of the main access to water, accurate variables that assess the accessibility to water are needed.

scholarly journals Demand Supply Gap in Urban Water Supply and Sanitary Services- A Case Study of Mangalore City Corporation Area

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-124
Author(s):  
Nagendra ◽  
Suresh
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Double Burden ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Slum Dwellers ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
Sub Saharan

Today, some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitations. These twin deficits were rooted in institutions and political choices, not in water’s availability. Household water requirements represent a tiny fraction of water use, usually less than 5% of the total, but there is tremendous inequality in access to clean water and to sanitation at a household level. In high-income areas of cities in Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa people enjoy access to several hundred litres of water a day delivered into their homes at low prices by public utilities. Meanwhile, slum dwellers and poor households in rural areas of the same countries have access to much less than the 20 litres of water a day per person required to meet the most basic human needs. Women and young girls carry a double burden of disadvantage, since they are the ones who sacrifice their time and their education to collect water.

Access to Water in the Slums of Sub-Saharan Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hulya Dagdeviren ◽  
Simon A. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan
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