I started this blog in October to investigate whether or not the 6th Sustainable Development Goal would be complete in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. When I began I had a number of preconceived ideas of what I would learn and a rough sense of the path my blog would follow.
Firstly, I expected to find that the current challenges facing urban water and sanitation services in sub-Saharan Africa were mainly due to insufficient government funding for infrastructure, high variability of rainfall in time and space, and high rates of population growth. Secondly, I expected to find that the solutions to these problem would involve; a) short-term, small scale development projects run by charities and NGOs to provide water and sanitation facilities for individual communities, b) long-term political and economic strategies run by international institutions such as the UN to increase the institutional and financial capacity of SSA governments to put them in a better position of being able to independently provide water and sanitation facilities to their populations. I also expected to learn that SDG number 6 would not be completed in SSA by 2030.
Firstly, I expected to find that the current challenges facing urban water and sanitation services in sub-Saharan Africa were mainly due to insufficient government funding for infrastructure, high variability of rainfall in time and space, and high rates of population growth. Secondly, I expected to find that the solutions to these problem would involve; a) short-term, small scale development projects run by charities and NGOs to provide water and sanitation facilities for individual communities, b) long-term political and economic strategies run by international institutions such as the UN to increase the institutional and financial capacity of SSA governments to put them in a better position of being able to independently provide water and sanitation facilities to their populations. I also expected to learn that SDG number 6 would not be completed in SSA by 2030.
But on writing this blog I have learned and been surprised by many new things. Firstly, that the challenges facing the WASH sector in SSA are much greater and more varied than I expected. While a lack of government funding is indeed a critical issue, even when funding is available there are many questions about how best to use these funds. For example, piped water networks, which are the most desirable type of water infrastructure, are simply not possible to install in many urban slums and therefore there is a need to utilise or develop alternative types of water and sanitation infrastructures e.g. the reinvent the toilet challenge organised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Furthermore, even with seemingly successful projects, there are often issues with how the new infrastructure is used and responded to by the communities they are serving e.g. in Nairobi where the new Biogas toilets were found to be extremely unpopular with the users.
I also expected to come across successful projects that could be copied in multiple slums across SSA due to my belief that all slums presented common challenges such as; informal housing, a low-income customer-base and a complete lack of any existing infrastructure. However, my research about the challenges facing the WASH sector in Dakar, Senegal, highlighted the fact that different slums often face very different sets of challenges and therefore require uniquely tailored development strategies.
However, what I found to be most interesting was the debate surrounding the role of the private sector in providing water and sanitation services in SSA. It surprised me to learn that the international community is putting significant economic and political pressure on many sub-Saharan African governments to privatise their water sectors. While I believe in the benefits of private sector involvement in primary utilities, I was concerned to learn that the policy of cost-recovery which is inherent to the private sector, is least effective and sometimes even destructive when applied to countries with poor populations and with poor existing water and sanitation infrastructures (Bayliss 2003). Unfortunately these characteristics apply to many SSA countries. The case of South Africa is particularly applicable with regards to the cholera outbreak of 2003. Furthermore, when I relate this to my original expectation regarding the international community using macro-economic/political strategies to try and increase government capacity in SSA, it seems that the advocation of private sector involvement in service provision (especially considering that most of the private utility firms are foreign to SSA) is contradictory to this.
To conclude, the challenges facing the WASH sector in SSA are great and there remains no clear consensus on how best to organise it. The WASH sectors in many sub-Saharan African countries are crowded and clearly there should be greater coordination between WASH actors to ensure that development efforts are aligned and do not undermine the sustainability of each other.
While I hoped to develop my own conclusive opinion regarding the best strategies for SDG number 6 to be completed by 2030, I remain very uncertain - even with regards to basic arguments such as whether water and sanitation provision should be in the hands of the private or the public sector. For the moment, I believe that cost-recovery is necessary but that any such model should be carefully regulated. Where the private sector is being involved, governing institutions need to have the regulatory power to ensure that provisions are made for those who cannot afford the tariffs. Where the public sector remains in control, I believe that the model of operation should be like that of a private company i.e. one that at least breaks even financially, but one that is also regulated to ensure that provision includes everyone and not just those who can pay. These models rely on effective regulation and this I believe should be the goal of development community. Finally I believe that charities and NGOs should continue to play an important role but that they should work in partnership with the public and private sectors as much as possible.
Sadly I do not believe SDG 6 will be complete by 2030 in SSA, but a lot has been achieved and many valuable lessons have been learned for the future.
I also expected to come across successful projects that could be copied in multiple slums across SSA due to my belief that all slums presented common challenges such as; informal housing, a low-income customer-base and a complete lack of any existing infrastructure. However, my research about the challenges facing the WASH sector in Dakar, Senegal, highlighted the fact that different slums often face very different sets of challenges and therefore require uniquely tailored development strategies.
However, what I found to be most interesting was the debate surrounding the role of the private sector in providing water and sanitation services in SSA. It surprised me to learn that the international community is putting significant economic and political pressure on many sub-Saharan African governments to privatise their water sectors. While I believe in the benefits of private sector involvement in primary utilities, I was concerned to learn that the policy of cost-recovery which is inherent to the private sector, is least effective and sometimes even destructive when applied to countries with poor populations and with poor existing water and sanitation infrastructures (Bayliss 2003). Unfortunately these characteristics apply to many SSA countries. The case of South Africa is particularly applicable with regards to the cholera outbreak of 2003. Furthermore, when I relate this to my original expectation regarding the international community using macro-economic/political strategies to try and increase government capacity in SSA, it seems that the advocation of private sector involvement in service provision (especially considering that most of the private utility firms are foreign to SSA) is contradictory to this.
To conclude, the challenges facing the WASH sector in SSA are great and there remains no clear consensus on how best to organise it. The WASH sectors in many sub-Saharan African countries are crowded and clearly there should be greater coordination between WASH actors to ensure that development efforts are aligned and do not undermine the sustainability of each other.
While I hoped to develop my own conclusive opinion regarding the best strategies for SDG number 6 to be completed by 2030, I remain very uncertain - even with regards to basic arguments such as whether water and sanitation provision should be in the hands of the private or the public sector. For the moment, I believe that cost-recovery is necessary but that any such model should be carefully regulated. Where the private sector is being involved, governing institutions need to have the regulatory power to ensure that provisions are made for those who cannot afford the tariffs. Where the public sector remains in control, I believe that the model of operation should be like that of a private company i.e. one that at least breaks even financially, but one that is also regulated to ensure that provision includes everyone and not just those who can pay. These models rely on effective regulation and this I believe should be the goal of development community. Finally I believe that charities and NGOs should continue to play an important role but that they should work in partnership with the public and private sectors as much as possible.
Sadly I do not believe SDG 6 will be complete by 2030 in SSA, but a lot has been achieved and many valuable lessons have been learned for the future.
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