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DAM-L African ministers mobilize for clean water/LS (fwd)
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Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 10:02:07 -0800
To: irn-safrica@netvista.net
From: Lori Pottinger <lori@irn.org>
Subject: African ministers mobilize for clean water/LS
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African Ministers Mobilize to Finance Clean Water
BONN, Germany, December 10, 2001 (ENS) - African ministers in charge
of water from 22 countries are urging that action to reduce death
rates due to poor hygiene and polluted water be placed at the core of
the next year's World Summit on Sustainable Development in South
Africa. There is a need for "drastic measures to improve water,
sanitation and hygiene conditions for all our peoples," they declared.
The recommendation, which marks a new strategy in the field of water
policy for Africa, comes in the wake of figures showing that 6,000
people a day, or over two million a year, are dying as a result of
sub-standard sanitation.
In their Ministerial Declaration at the close of the International
Conference on Freshwater here last week, the ministers point out that
with a population increase of 400 million by 2010, at least 17
countries on the African continent will be short of water within a
decade. "Their lack of water will severely constrain food production,
ecosystem protection and socio-economic development," the ministers
warned.
They called for a regional and global alliance and financial support
for tackling water and sanitation problems.
The ministers have agreed to mobilize resources to meet water
challenges and to try and create the conditions to attract the
massive investments needed for water and sanitation. "It is our hope
that future international support will be proportionate to the
gravity and magnitude of the water and sanitation problems in
Africa," the said.
The 17 point Declaration, agreed to by the ministers of Angola,
Benin, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan,
Tanzania, Togo and Uganda, flags a range of concerns.
With recurring droughts and chronic water shortages in many areas,
the majority of African governments and people pay an increasingly
high price for the water or the lack of it.
"The highest price is often paid by the poor majority in terms of
money to buy small quantities of water, calories expended to fetch
water from distant sources, impaired health, diminished livelihoods
and even lost lives, thus exacerbating the cycle of poverty. Today
over 300 million people in Africa still do not have reasonable access
to safe water. Even more lack adequate sanitation," says the
Declaration.
The ministerial statement highlights how habitats, ecosystems and
aquatic species are at risk from the increasing demand for water and
the lack of agreements between countries on the equitable share of
water resources such as underground aquifers, lakes and rivers.
Drought cracked soil in Tunisia (Photo by F. Botts courtesy FAO)
"With over 50 major, international, water basins in Africa,
procedures for avoiding or resolving international disputes over
water are largely lacking," the ministers acknowledged.
The Declaration underscores Africa's commitment to tackle these
issues through the New Partnership for Africa's Development, adopted
by African Heads of State in Lusaka, Zambia on July 11.
Key actions that need to be carried out by African countries and the
international community to deliver sufficient safe and clean water
for people and wildlife include governance of the water sector,
intergovernmental policy dialogue and financing.
The ministers agreed to hold a meeting of the 53 African ministers in
charge of water in Nigeria in March or April next year.
--
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network <'})))>><
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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