On May 16, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health held a briefing and hearing on Africa’s water crisis.
Chair Donald Payne (D-NJ) stated, “More people die due to a lack of water than due to armed conflicts. This is a global crisis.” He said that “more than half of the developing world’s population lacks access to sanitation and 1.1 billion people lack access to improved drinking water,” adding, “The lack of clean water claims the lives of 4,900 children every day, 440 children in Uganda each week, and 250,000 children in Ethiopia each year.” Rep. Payne expressed his concern that a “huge proportion” of assistance authorized under the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-121) goes to Iraq and Afghanistan, with a relatively small amount for Africa. He said, “Africa’s water crisis demands immediate action and drastically increased resources from the U.S. and all donor nations.”
Ranking Member Christopher Smith (R-NJ) said, “In its Human Development Report for 2006, the UNDP [United Nations Development Programme] presents a heavy indictment against the international community, noting that every year 1.8 million children die from causes related to unclean water and poor sanitation. This is equivalent to 4,900 deaths every day, and diarrheal disease is the second highest cause of death in the world for children under five, despite the fact that we now have oral rehydration therapy.” Rep. Smith pointed out that Africa’s water crisis “unduly affects women and girls, who in many societies have the responsibility of collecting and transporting water, which can occupy their energy and time for several hours each day.”
UNDP Human Development Report Office Deputy Director Cecilia Ugaz and African Union (AU) Mission Permanent Representative to the United States Amina Salum Ali participated in the briefing. Ms. Ugaz summarized the findings of the UNDP Human Development Report 2006 and emphasized the need for access to water and sanitation. She said, “On average, only about one person in three in South Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa has access to sanitation. In Ethiopia it is one in seven people. Access to sanitation is one of the strongest determinants of child survival: the transition from unimproved to improved sanitation reduces child mortality by a third.” Ms. Ugaz said that sanitation involves “a huge gender component”; women have “a very, very strong will” to solve this problem, but are usually not well represented in the decision-making process. Ambassador Ali described African Union initiatives, including the African Water Facility, begun in 2004, and regional projects.
During questions, Rep. Payne asked Ms. Ugaz to comment on the impact the water crisis has on rural women. Ms. Ugaz said that women and girls spend as much as four hours a day collecting water, which adds up to 400 billion hours a year. She said that the lack of sanitation facilities for girls at school poses particular difficulties. Often girls stop attending school when they reach puberty, she said, due to the lack of water and sanitation.
Rep. Payne said that security for women in conflict areas has been a concern and asked if security for women collecting water was an issue for the African Union. Ambassador Ali responded that, in Darfur, the African Union is trying to provide security for women, though it is not enough. She said that AU programs have the aim of providing rural women with access to water that is not more than one kilometer from their village. Ambassador Ali echoed Ms. Ugaz’s concern that lack of sanitation facilities causes girls to leave school.
The hearing’s first witness, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), sponsor of the Water for the Poor Act, said, “I used to think those pictures in the National Geographic of women with water jugs on their heads were sort of exotic. Now, I recognize that they represent the face of poverty and a tragic scene. Young women, particularly, are paying the price. Girls spending hours a day getting water are much less likely to be in school and, in fact, many of them are at risk in terms of personal safety.” Rep. Blumenauer noted, “United Nations reports show that increasing access to water and sanitation is necessary to meet any of our development objectives from fighting HIV/AIDS and reducing global poverty to preventing conflict. This tragedy is compounded because, not only is it happening, but we’re not doing enough to stop it.”
State Department Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Assistant Secretary Claudia McMurray affirmed that “inadequate water supply and sanitation are especially important issues for women and girls.” She said, “Women and girls who lack access to sanitation facilities must often wait until dark to relieve themselves or do so in public and risk harassment and/or abuse. Young girls are less likely to attend classes if the school does not have suitable hygiene facilities. This is particularly true after puberty and in areas where girls have access to adequate sanitation at home. One United Nations study estimates that half the girls in sub-Saharan Africa who drop out of primary school do so because of poor water and sanitation facilities…In Mozambique, rural Senegal, and eastern Uganda, the UN reports that women spend on average 15-17 hours per week collecting water often walking six miles or more in the dry season. Each dollar spent on water and sanitation yields $8 of benefits in saved time, increased productivity, and reduced health costs. Beyond the numbers, increased access to water and sanitation would improve education, empower women, promote human dignity, and reduce the pain and suffering associated with high child mortality rates.” Ms. McMurray outlined three goals for U.S. efforts and reviewed current projects, such as the West Africa Water Initiative and regional agreement initiatives in the Nile Basin and Ethiopia.
Walter North, senior deputy assistant administrator at the Bureau for Africa at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), detailed USAID’s water program in Africa, with particular emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. He said that “USAID’s health programs have been working to expand the emphasis on household hygiene measures to ensure the safety of drinking water, promote handwashing, and increase the use of effective sanitation within the context of maternal and child health, as well as care and support activities for people living with HIV/AIDS…Successful household water disinfection programs typically reduce diarrheal disease rates by 30-50 percent, definitely a quick win from the health perspective.” Mr. North described a successful collaboration with private charitable funding, the PlayPumps Global Development Alliance, that includes “a merry-go-round that pumps water as children play” and also “promotes improved sanitation and hygiene behaviors and a reduction in the spread of HIV/AIDS through public awareness campaigns.”
Also testifying were CARE Water Team Director Peter Lochery and Millennium Water Alliance Chairman Malcom Morris.
