OVER 5,180,000 people in Zambia do not have access to clean water and 7,980,000 people have no access to clean sanitation.
WaterAid country representative Fatoumata Haidara said lack of sanitation is a public health issue as people are affected by their neighbours and communities’ sanitation status as well as their own.
Speaking during the National Stakeholder Dissemination Workshop of the Budget Tracking findings on Friday, Ms Haidara said the implications of not improving access to clean water and good sanitation will have a spiral effect on all the other sectors such as health and education.
“Consequently this will continue to affect the country’s ability not just to reduce poverty and achieve MDG target but more importantly curb water and sanitation related diseases and realise the vision 2030,”she said.
Ms Haidara said the vision of the Zambia’s water and sanitation situation sector is ‘a Zambia where all users have access to water and sanitation and utlilise them in an efficient and sustainable manner for wealth creation and improved livelihood by 2030”.
She said the goal is to achieve 75 percent accessibility to reliable safe water and 50 percent adequate sanitation by 2015 in order to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life.
“The MDGs, which Zambia is working towards along with other countries of the world, include the target to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation,” Ms Haidara said.
Ms Haidara said although the proportion of people with access to basic sanitation facilities rose rapidly in other countries in the past few years, Zambia like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa only had a marginal improvement of five percent from 32 percent to 37 percent.
“Zambia has one of the highest under 5 mortality rates in the world at 182/1,000 live births and it accounts for 1/5 of all deaths among children under five. Among the contributing factors is poor sanitation and hygiene,” she said.
This is stone age. All these old fu’ckheads have failed us. Surely this. commission a borehole that has untreated water with a news crew.
Monkeys.
I hope HH will start a new era otherwise he should also go after one year. Otherwise these mongrels leading us have failed lamentably. no need to even think of them. But watch Zambians like shitting in the bush and thinking its normal. How sad.
That is PF’s legacy and Michael Sata’s vision which Edgar Lungu wants to carry forward! Why would Zambians in the 21st Century be denied access to good, clean, running water in their homes? EL and his PF have no clue what to do. HH is the man. He will fix all this mess.
I said this is stone age. Post my comment please. The fact is that these old f’uckheads have failed us lamentably.
Truth of the matter is if HH doesn’t change the trend then he should also go in one year. Not change everything but show direction.
The problem is Zambians like s’hitting in the bush and think its normal or have toilets filled to the brim with faeces like all public toilets and they don’t see the problem with it.
we need change please. Nothing to take a news crew to open a borehole of untreated water.
Shame on the unless i.diot with a cap
By the way not me because am also wearing a cap but not a blue one. LOL
@Catpower…. those are heavy insults on a sunday.
PF yes indeed are useless. But believe me not, I have 2 friends working for WaterAid, they drive huge petrol gangling Toyota fimofimo. A project manager with own driver and an assistant to driver. 3-4 people visiting villages asking silly questions of they need a bole or note. They do 10 workshops with allowances per 1 f**king bole hole. In 2 years they drill 20 boles, and WaterAid employees get gratuity in same 2 year for $50,000 each.
I don’t like WaterAid or ActionAid, I don’t like NGOs. Politicians are better thieves.
Absolutely right, these are the bread and butter issues that should be at the top of the agenda, I believe HH would make a difference. Unfortunately these *****s want to live like animals in the 21st century. These are good enough reasons to kick out a govt. How long can people keep living like animals?
Sometimes I get so scared being in Zambia, the fear of the call of nature is always there. Even in war zones or construction sites you are able to have mobile toilets of a higher standard.
This acute shortage of water could be the reason Kaminamisa Vodka Edgar Lungu drinks so much alcohol to the point that his alcoholism has deformed his facial features….who did Chishimba Kambwili say urinates in his pants when drunk?
These are the challenges that HH should come and sort out. We can’t continue at this pace
@Kaput so. Thank you for that. Yes, indeed these challenges are for HH. I don’t doubt that he will sort them out within record time. In 50 years of independence people still don’t clean water. Shame on Zambian politicians who claim to have experience.
Viva #FlightHH2015 & 2016.
Take this statement seriously! Over half the population have no access to clean sanitation! Wow….50yrs on and we are still pooing in the bushes and imagine the rains sweeping all the crap back into our drinking water reservoirs.
Subcontract private companies to dig boreholes throughout the country and not costly government machinery. They inflate costs to cream off for their pockets thereby making it costly for the tax payer. In addition to stealing through inflated costing, they also demand daily allowances in addition to their salaries. Come on, emulate the developed economies which you have studied extensively but are not willing to emulate. I did not say copy, but emulate.
ZAMBIA has 2/3 of water in the SADAC countries and yet most people still share water with animals in rivers and streams.More than 97% of Zambians don’t have flashable toilets and hence shit in the near by bushes. The lucky few in villages have pit latrines. If you vote for PF this situation is likely to continue. Its only HH who can change this through is rural and peri Urban industrial development plan. Which will bring water,electric power,Solar and Transport closer to processing industries.He intends to introduce Agriculture processing and value addition to our raw materials such as copper.Vote HH and UPND for this change. Dont waste your time on Edgar Muslim,Kabotolo Lungu and his pathetic Failures.
5 Million? How did you count that accuracy?
And how many politicians are suffering as a result of these poor conditions? I can safely say none of them live with this reality in their homes. Governments 1,2a,b,c and 3a are responsible. Now the slot is open for someone to come forward and change things so the best part of it remains that whomever fills that slot will have a limited time to prove they have the faintest clue what to do about 50 years of lying to ourselves about progress for all…
And yes I say 3a because 3b is an electoral option although my choice is that we have a fourth chance to do right by the people and should keep a little continuity where it makes sense but otherwise radically choose to switch gears, focus and turn off the rhetoric.
This is the evidence of how the UNIP, MMD and PF governments have failed to govern this country! This is evidence that we have been electing incompetent leaders! Where have our leaders been when this has been happening to our citizens? It is more annoying when you see the extravagance in government! This DC, instead of commissioning a water treatment plant, the chap is happy commissioning a borehole? The earlier we learn to elect competent leaders the better. Bena Edgar Lungu, Kambwili, Simuusa, Jean Kapata, Inonge Wina, etc have no clue on what it takes to address the challenges highlighted in this report. HH, Chipimo, may have a clue! PF KUYA BEBELE.
To make matters worse, even the so called city/town houses being built have no developed sewage systems or water works but rely on septic tanks and soak away systems which are in the same yard as the boreholes. What a country which can not plan even for basic systems like water and sewerage 50 yrs after independence! We seriously need to look at ourselves and correct all the wrongs of the past i.e. poor leadership with not forward thinking.
That is the legacy Edgar Lungu has fallen in love with and which he wants to perpetuate – water in drums and plastic buckets for all homes throughout Zambia! In other countries, that kind of low thinking would have disqualified EL to be considered even for the job of a plumber. VOTE FOR HH, THE VISIONARY.
Actually you are all stupid fools. You are supposed to be developing Zambia for your families and poor relatives in the villages. Meanwhile you are eating junk food in other countries. By the way we know that where you have gone or migrated you are just begging and meanwhile you blame and condemn those who are trying to do something for your poverty stricken relatives. Go to hell with your HH for all I care.