Water and Sanitation Media Network, Nigeria

US student wins stockholm water prize

babalobi — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:50:52 +0000

Stockholm - Joyce Chai from the United States was awarded the prestigious 2008 Stockholm Junior Water Prize yesterday in a formal ceremony in the Stockholm International Fairs and Conference Center during the World Water Week in Stockholm.

The student from Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in Rolling Hills Estates, California, received the Prize from the hands of H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria on behalf of the Stockholm Water Foundation. She also received a USD 5,000 scholarship and a crystal sculpture.
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize is presented each year to high-school age students for outstanding water-related projects that focus on topics of environmental, scientific, social or technological importance.

The international honour is given to an individual or group who, like their 30 co-competitors, has been awarded the top prize among national competitions. The National Country winners travel to Stockholm from as far a field as Argentina, Ghana and Vietnam. The official motivation of the Nominating Committee for this year’s winner is:

“The project from the USA entitled ‘Modelling the Toxic Effects of Silver Nanoparticles under Varying Environmental Conditions’ is the winner of the 2008 Stockholm Junior Water Prize for discovering the potential toxicity of silver nanoparticles. This is a new, hardly investigated category of micropollutants, which are commonly used in industry for a variety of purposes.

These particles are then released into the environment, including water bodies, without proper knowledge of their fate and potential toxicity. The remarkable level of scientific research takes steps towards understanding and quantifying the potential environmental consequences and risks of their use. This study repudiates the assertion that silver nanoparticles are more reliable and less environmentally hazardous than silver ions. This initial research questions the reliability of their use in consumer products.

The scientific impact of this investigation is extremely profound, and we expect that it will open the door to serious questioning and further studies regarding the widespread use of silver nanoparticles.”

The projects “Restoration of Water Reservoirs Using Latent Phases of Aquatic Organisms, from Alexey Shinkarev, Russian Federation, and “Firewood Hearth Distillers for Safe Water for Vulnerable Rural Populations” from the Sri Lankan team of R.D. Dasun Thakshala Siriwardana, Sandun Gayath, Sameera Dissanayaka and A. Sujith Madushan Silva received honourable mention.

High-resolution photos for press are available after 22.00 Central European Time at www.worldwaterweek.org. Footage of the ceremony will be available to registered journalists at www.thenewsmarket.com/siwi. For more information, contact: Stephanie Blenckner, Acting Communications Director, SIWI, at +46 (0)8-522 139 86, stephanie.blenckner@siwi.org.

The World Water Week continues at the Stockholm International Fairs and Conference Centre until Saturday, August 23.

Small grants for water and sanitation projects

babalobi — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:08:00 +0000

Call for applicants for the Japan Water Forum Fund 2008 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The Japan Water Forum is pleased to invite grass-roots organizations in developing countries to apply for the Japan Water Forum Fund 2008.

This Fund was created for awarding grants to grass-roots organizations in developing countries involved in water-related activities. We will provide up to 1,000US$ per activity or project. However, receiving a grant is limited to once a year for each selected organization.

“Grass-roots activities” are activities planned and faithfully implemented by grass-roots organizations to bring about an appreciable improvement upon the current water issues. These activities include various projects, awareness-raising campaigns, publicity activities to promote citizens participation and educational programs for capacity building on water-related issues: water supply; sanitation; water-related diseases; irrigation; drainage; dams; river and lake basins; wetlands; groundwater; poverty; and gender.

The application form and guidelines for the JWF Fund 2008 are available at:

http://www.waterforum.jp/eng/

Please submit a duly filled application form to the Japan Water Forum by e-mail by July 31, 2008. Please note that we will not accept any applications submitted after the due day.

Please note that the form must be filled in English. Other languages are not accepted.

For more information, please feel free to contact the Japan Water Forum at jwffund@waterforum.jp.

Media registration for World Water week now open

babalobi — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:48:34 +0000

(Back to Top)

The 2008 World Water Week in Stockholm, August 17-23, is the leading annual global meeting place in water and development for professionals from all over the world.

Representatives of the media – press, photo, radio, television and film – will be accredited for coverage of the World Water Week in Stockholm events (this does NOT include any travel, accomodation, or personal costs).

To register, click here.

Africa NGOs petitions AU on access to water

babalobi — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:20:44 +0000

Open Letter to Africa Union Chairman on the Occasion of 11th Ordinary Session of the Assembly

Friday, 06 June 2008

Dear President,

1. We are a coalition of social movements, NGOs and trade unions working on water and social justice with international solidarity would like to take the opportunity on the occasion of the Africa Union Summit to draw your attention to the poor people’s access to potable water and its resultant consequences on the citizens of the continent. According to the 2006 Human Development Report 1.1 billion people across the globe have no access to potable water and majority of them who are concentrated on the African continent where 1 out of 5 people have no access.

This has translated into massive cost to the continent; diarrhoea and parasitic infections 1.8 million child deaths per year, simply put 5,000 die per day. By the time the pre-summit and summit will be done, 50, 000 children will have died from water-related causes, making it the second cause of child mortality. We are concerned that Africa is seriously lagging behind achieving the MDG on water, it will take a whole generation (30 years) for Sub-Sahara Africa to meet the MDG target.

Inimical Policies

2. With these catastrophes hanging around our necks, our governments are promoting policies which are deepening the crisis; Introduction of Full Cost Recovery is hiking prices of water out of the reach of poor citizens, hence denying access to potable water. Equally dangerous is the demand driven water schemes in Africa for rural areas whereby they are made to contribute 5% of the cost of water facilities. This has been a big barrier for access to potable water by the rural citizens.

3. The introduction of restrictors and pre-paid water meters targeting the urban poor in South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda has been linked to cholera outbreaks and poor sanitation. These technologies automatically cut off the poor when they do not have money to pay for water instantly.

4. Despite monumental failure of the private sector to provide water to the poor and needy in South Africa, Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania to mention a few the World Bank and donors are still bent on promoting water privatisation on the continent, through a number of mechanisms, including the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF[1]), whose main agenda is to dismantle public utilities for the promotion of the private sector. Equally worrying is the EU push for opening up waste and wastewater management of ACP countries in the current negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA). This when signed would lock-in Africa into the hands of private concerns from Europe.

5. Promotion of water rights and water permits in national water policies being sponsored by the EU and the World Bank is opening the floodgates for the commodification of water and absolute control of water resources by the private sector for profit. If these policies are allowed to take root, water would be the flashpoint for conflict on the continent as already is happening between mining concessionaires and communities competing with them for the same water resources.

Our request

6. Instead of donors helping to destroy public utilities which delivers 90% of global water supply, they should support public utilities by building on their strengths and reducing their weaknesses. There are strong public utility companies on the continent who have the capacity to facilitate the restructuring of weaker ones with Public-Public Partnerships (PUPs), on a not-for-profit basis. The Global Water Operators Partnership (GWOP[2]) created by the UN is a window of opportunity which could be used to achieve this goal.

7. AU should lobby EU and WB to fund public utilities instead of the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) which are not working. Currently our network has engaged the EU Africa Water Facility[3] to shift its focus from funding private sector and NGOs to funding public utilities. The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) should put more effort into building strong public water utilities as a priority over the promotion of PPPs, and encourage member countries to spend at least 3% of GDP on the provision of water and sanitation services. Our governments cannot ignore this obligation to our citizens.

8. The Assembly should recognise water as a human right and encourage member nations to pass legislation to instil the rights in national constitutions. Water permit regimes which promote commodification should be discarded and in place, we should promote water commons.

9. Full Cost Recovery should be abolished and in place explore alternatives such as solidarity tariff structures. And also recognise water as a social good which needs social investment to meet the needs of the continent’s citizens.

10. The AU Assembly should demand from countries that have introduced pre-paid water meters and flow restrictors to immediately remove them. And implement the provision of at least 50 litres of free water per person per day. And also commend the South African judiciary for ruling against pre-paid water meters in Johannesburg.

11. We believe that if the AU Assembly is able to get its members to implement the above recommendations, it would go a long way to reduce the continent’s health budget, increase productivity, reduce poverty and improve human dignity. It has been known that access to clean water and sanitation can reduce the incidence of child mortality by 50%.

12. We hope that Mr President would use his office to submit our request to the AU Assembly

Signed Members

1. Africa Water Network

2. National Society for Human Rights-Namibia

3. Campaign for Good Governance-Sierra Leone

4. Naional Coalition Against Privatisation of Water-Ghana

5. Friends of the Earth-Togo

6. Bread of Life Development Foundation-Nigeria

7. Nigeria Civil Society Network for Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN)-Nigeria

8. Pan African Vision for the Enviroment-Nigeria

9. Tanzania Water and Sanitation NGO-Tanzani

10. Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church-Ethiopia

11. Wetlands Programme, East African Wild Life Society-Kenya

12. ORCADE-Burkina Faso

13. Association Sénégalaise pour la Protection de l’Environnement-Senegal

14. Sustainable Development Institute-Liberia

15. Coalition Against Privatisation of Water (CAWP)-South Africa

16. Kenya Local Government Workers Union-Kenya

17. Amalgamated union Public Corporations, technical

and Recreational Services (AUPCTRE)-Nigeria

18. Coalition Malienne de Defense de l` Eau (CMDE) –Mali

19. Public Services International-West Africa

20. Public Services International-South Africa

21. Public Services International-North Africa

22. Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN)- North Africa

23. Habitat International Coalition (HIC)- North Africa

24. Water Employees Trade Union of Malawi-Malawi

25. Association Pour la Défense des Consommateurs (APDC)-Cameron

26. Tanzania Gender Networking Programme-Tanzania

27. Consumer First Network-Kenya

28. ACORD-Uganda

29. Water Dialogue-South Africa

30. Center for Civil Society-South Africa

31. WESDE-Cameroun

32. African women’s Economic Policy Network-Uganda

33. Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM)-Lesotho

34. CCFMC/FRACODEP-Kenya

GWP West Africa (GWP/WA) Chairman- call for applications

babalobi — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:32:18 +0000

The West Africa Water Partnership (GWP/WA), the regional body of the Global Water Partnership is seeking candidates for the position of its Chair.

The Global Water Partnership aims at supporting countries in the sustainable management of their water resources.

The mission of GWP recognises that the broader development goals of eliminating poverty, improving social well-being and economic growth and protecting natural resources cannot be achieved if water resources are not used in a sustainable way.

GWP is promoting Integrated Water Resources Management. The role of the GWP/WA chairman is to lead the regional partnership to accomplish its fundamental mission that is to form alliances and reinforce the institutional capacities of the members in order to encourage and strengthen research, information and expertise networks on IWRM in the region. The chairman presides over the Assembly of Partners and the Steering Committee and represents the Partnership in all its civil life transactions.

The GWP/WA chairman is appointed by the Steering committee for a term of two years renewable only once. Candidates should be regional political, scientific or technical leaders with a demonstrated background and interest in building and reinforcing cooperation and partnership.

GWP/WA chairman is expected to provide an input of approximately ten weeks per year including the Steering Committee annual meeting and the Assembly of Partners’ meeting every two years of two to three days each in different parts in West Africa.

The chairman is paid at a daily rate fixed by GWP/WA Steering Committee. All travel, per diem and accommodation costs are covered at standard terms. The working languages of GWP/WA are English and French. Nominations and applications should be submitted to GWP/WA Secretariat by April 30^th, 2008 at the latest..

Women candidates are highly encouraged.Curriculum Vitae or contact and background information on proposed candidates should be submitted to: GWP/WA Secretariat03 BP 7112 Ouagadougou 03Burkina FasoTel: +226 50 36 62 12Fax: +226 50 36 62 08

E-mail: watac@fasonet.bf General information on GWP and GWP/WA is obtained on GWP web–site http://www.gwpforum.org or can be requested directly from the GWP/WA Secretariat via phone, fax or e-mail.

World Water Day: Stakeholders call for accelerated sanitation programme

babalobi — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:14:21 +0000

From Eric Ojo, Abuja

Participants at world water day celebration in Abuja on Tuesday, espoused the need for an accelerated

sanitation programme delivery in Nigeria.

The commemoration of the water day by stakeholders in the sector served as a platform for raising awareness

about the urgent need to provide adequate water supply and sanitation to the people in order to reduce to the

barest minimum the water and sanitation related disease occurrences in the country.

The participants also acknowledged that the event provided an additional opportunity of flagging off the

2008 international year of sanitation (IYS) in Nigeria. In his address at the occasion, Alhaji Abba

Ruma, minister of agriculture and water resources,said that the onus is now on Nigeria to take on the

huge challenges to kick-start the 2008 IYS action plan for the country in order to meet up with the

millennium development goals (MDGs) target for sanitation and hygiene development.

According to him, “As professionals and facilitators of water and sanitation development, we all know that

without basic sanitation the benefits of access to clean water are reduced with consequences of health,

gender and other inequalities that are associated with sanitation affecting progress in education, poverty

reduction and wealth creation.”

Also making his contribution, Dr. Robert Limlim, deputy UNICEF representative in Nigeria, said  the

theme for this year’s celebration; ‘sanitation matters’, is in line with the importance of the United Nations declaration of 2008 as the international year of sanitation which aims to highlight the sanitation

crisis in countries and strategies to kick-start efforts to accelerate access to sanitation. “We are

very gratified that the government of Nigeria has already developed its IYS action plan through a

participatory process with three key targets”, he said.

 Dr. Limlim said UNICEF has strong interest in and commitment to sanitation development in Nigeria

because it is vital to the health, social and economic development of Nigeria’s children. “We all share a

joint commitment to achieving the millennium development goal sanitation target of reducing by half

the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015, and are familiar through our

everyday work of the opportunities and challenges we face in achieving this target. We hope to use the

event to renew our commitment and support to accelerating the progress of improved sanitation and

hygiene in this country”, he added.

He posited that based on 2006 UNICEF/WHO joint monitoring programme report on sanitation, there is a

slight increase in the access to sanitation in Nigeria between 1990 and 2004, however over 70 million people

are still without basic sanitation and with present trend, it might be difficult to achieve the MDG

sanitation target. He observed that children under five are most vulnerable to the effects of

insufficient sanitation and hygiene, adding that every year, an estimated 150,000 dealths mainly amongst

under five children occur annually due to diarrhea caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices. Dr.

Limlim said UNICEF believes that improving excreta disposal can decrease diarrhea rates by over 35 per

cent and hand washing with soap at critical times can decrease diarrhea by over 47 per cent. Such

improvement, according to him, save children’s lives and improve the quality of their living environment.

Mr. Jonathan Burton, country representative WaterAid Nigeria, pointed out that there is compelling evidence

that sanitation brings the single greatest public health gains of any policy intervention, yet it

remains the most neglected of all sectors, accorded low priority by national governments and donors alike.

Mr. Burton said that WaterAid is therefore calling upon government at the federal, state, and local

government levels, to take immediate and urgent action. “We are calling for a recognition of the

sanitation crisis, an articulation of its integral role in human development, and a strong commitment to

overturn the neglect of the sector”, he said.

He further disclosed that WaterAid is aiming to mobilize political will during the IYS 2008 to draw

attention to the dire state of nteh people who lack access to sanitation, adding that the current poor

progress against the 2015 MDG for sanitation constitutes a political crisis. For effective

implementation, he called for one coordinating body, one national plan and one transparent monitoring

framework for sanitation, increased levels of investment delivered to be delivered through a

specific and transparent budget line open to public scrutiny and also broad participation by a wide range

of stakeholders in the planning and monitoring of sanitation service delivery at national and

sub-national levels.

NGO to monitor IFIs activities in Nigeria

babalobi — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:53:32 +0000

ACTIONAID NIGERIA SIGNS MoU WITH ANEEJ ON IFIs WATCH

ABUJA- Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice [ANEEJ] a non-governmental organization based in Benin City with Advocacy Office in Abuja is to commence monitoring of International Financial Institutions in Nigeria- World Bank, I.M.F and African Development Bank. The project which is supported by ActionAid Nigeria is to run for the period February – December 2008.

At a Memorandum of Understanding signing, the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria Dr. Otive Igbuzor noted that ANEEJ has a track record of experience working on IFIs issues in Nigeria and internationally hence the partnership.

Explaining the need for the project, Dr. Igbuzor said: “The IFIs have a strong history of funding development projects that are poorly conceived and out of touch with the development needs of the target beneficiary communities. While the World Bank purports to be a driver of sustainable development, its projects often cause irreversible environmental and social damage.

Large dams, oil and gas installations as well as mining, and agriculture projects have often caused irreversible environmental and social impacts to local communities, in addition to harming the global environment thereby threatening sustainable livelihoods of already poor voiceless members of the society.”

Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor who signed the MoU on behalf of his organization explaining his organization’s interest on IFIs’ activities said:

“We have come to observe that the International Financial Institutions have reinforced poverty through irresponsible lending and unprofitable polices and programmes. It is only important that as non-state actors, we should rise up to the occasion of monitoring the activities of these IFIs and come out with clear and possible alternatives. We will continue to reject imposition of policies that would not translate into poverty reduction or that would exacerbate underdevelopment of our people”, the ANEEJ boss said.

Ugolor listed the scope and objectives of the project to include organizing an Expert Group Meeting on IFIs and identify advocacy entry points, monitor the IFIs and their missions, undertake reports and studies of IFI activities, provide alternative policy recommendation and critically engage the IFIs through advocacy.

Chairman Board of Trustees of ANEEJ, Prof. Ben Aigbonkhan while thanking ActionAid Nigeria which has partnered with ANEEJ for three years running, said it is heartwarming in the annals of civil society activism to find international NGOs partnering with local NGOs to address the numerous development challenges facing Nigerians.

Water and Sanitation Media Nigeria: AGM report

babalobi — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:06:19 +0000

Report of the 1^st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Water and Sanitation Media Network held at Gubabi Royal Hotel, Abuja, 24^th-27^th February 2008 By Babatope Babalobiblfnigeria@yahoo.com Preamble

The first Annual General Meeting of Water and Sanitation Media Network (WATSAN Media Network) took place in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria from 24^th-26^th February, 2008, under the theme ‘The Media and Public Accountability in the Water and Sanitation Sector’. The AGM attracted 25 Journalists and Media Professionals reporting the Water and Sanitation sector for Print, Electronic and Online media organisations in Nigeria.

The meeting also featured project briefs and thematic presentations by various Stakeholders in the water sector. A keynote address was delivered by Dr. Abdulmuminin, Director, Water Supply, Quality Control and Inspectorate, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, (FMAWR), represented by Mr. Chris Ikelionwu, an Assistant Director; Mrs Ifeoma Charles-Monwuba, Head, Policy and Partnerships, WaterAid Nigeria spoke on ‘Right to Water’; Mohammed El-Fatih, Chief WASH, UNICEF represented by Bade Olokun spoke on UNICEF projects; Engineer Benson Ajisegiri, Coordinator of the National Urban Water Sector Reform Project Implementation Unit briefed participants on Water Sector Reform/Private Sector Participation in Water Services delivery; Mrs Tokunbo Ogbe, a Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resource informed participants on the planned activities in Nigeria for the International Year of Sanitation; and Mr. Bisi Agberemi of UNICEF spoke on Sanitation Options.

The AGM also featured Skills training sessions enabling participants become better analysts of the sector. Mr Paul Killebrew, a Sector Analyst with WaterAid Nigeria trained participants on Budget Tracking with emphasis on sectoral allocations to Water resources; Bankole Ebisemiju, Information and Communications officer of WATER Aid anchored a session on ‘The Journalist as an Advocate’; Leo Atakpu, National Co-ordinator of the Society for Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN) discussed on Water and Sanitation Networks; and Babatope Babalobi of Bread of Life Dev. Foundation trained participants on ‘Using New Media Technologies, especially Blogs to source and disseminate information’.

Welcoming delegates, Coordinator of the Water and Sanitation Media Network, Babatope Babalobi said the WATSAN Media Mnet was formed to achieve the following objectives:a. Increase the technical capacity of Nigeria’s Water and Sanitation Journalists to effectively report and analyze water and sanitation issues.b. Generally increase the understanding of Nigeria’s of Water and Sanitation Journalists on water and sanitation issues.c. To serve as a platform for its members to discharge the constitutional assigned responsibility of upholding government responsibility to the people, particularly in the implementing of water and sanitation programmes.d. Embark on Policy advocacy to ensure and guarantee every Nigerian has access to safe water and sanitation services.e. The body shall facilitate the participation of its members in relevant local and international meetings, conferences and workshops.

f. The body shall cooperate with other bodies with similar aims for the promotion of its objectives.

He said the theme of the AGM on “The Media and Public Accountability in the Water and Sanitation Sector’” provides an opportunity to discuss the role of the media in increasing transparency and accountability in the sector; as well as develop advocacy skills of the media in order to achieve this.

“By the formation of the Water and Sanitation Media Network, we are sending signals to all stakeholders that we want to join the debate on Water and Sanitation Policy and Programmes, we shall start to demand access to information on planned projects and budgets in the water and sanitation sector at the Federal, State and Local Government levels, we shall follow the money, and write investigative reports on how the various programmes and policies in the sector are really touching the lives of our people especially in the rural areas”, said Babalobi

He also stressed the need for the media to participate in training programmes in order to sharpen their skills and increase their knowledge on WATSAN issues; advocating that:

1. The National Water Resources Institute should include training Journalists on Water and Sanitation issues in order to increase our understanding.2. Private Sector firms working in the sector should support the training of Journalists locally and International; and their participation in Water and Sanitation conferences.3. That Government and Development agencies implementing Water and Sanitation projects should include a component for Monitoring of such projects by Water and Sanitation Journalists.

Dr. Abdulmuminin, the Director of Water supply, Quality Control, and Inspectorate of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources Director, in a keynote address delivered by Mr. Chris Ikelionwu, solicited “the support of the media (print and electronic) in the areas of enlightenment, publicity, education o f the Nigeria populace on the Government polices as they affect water and sanitation in the country; and sensitizing our development partners to provide funds to the government development activities.

“The media should campaign on behalf of the Government for more development partners to come on board to support the efforts of the Government towards realising the MGDs,” said Abdulmuninin.

Speaking on the Right to Water, Mrs Ifeoma Charles-Monwuba, Head, Policy and Partnerships, WaterAid Nigeria lamented that whereas, “there is sufficient fresh water for everyone’s basic need, access to it is hampered by natural inequitable allocation of resources, lack of distribution network, working system to extract ground water, systems to harvest rain water, exclusion from services, pollution and contamination of surface and ground water, and excessive extraction of ground water.

She said, the legal framework for the right to water and sanitation was laid in 2002, by the Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural rights that adopted General Comment no 15; and the Right to water comprises the following:

· Sufficient water: water supply for each person that is sufficient and continuous for personal and domestic uses, which normally include dinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation, personal and household hygiene.· Clean water: safe water that in particular, is free from hazardous substances that could endanger human health, and whose colour, odour and taste are acceptable to users.· Accessible water and sanitation: water and sanitation services and facilities are accessible within, or in the immediate vicinity, of each household, educational institution and workplace. Sanitation is safe, adequate, and conducive to the protection of public health and the environment.· Affordable water and sanitation: water and sanitation can be secured without reducing any person’s capacity to acquire other essential goods and services, including food, housing, health service and education· Non discrimination and inclusion of vulnerable and marginalised groups: There is no distinction based on grounds such as race or colour which leads to unequal access to water and sanitation. Non discrimination also includes proactive measures to ensure that the particular needs of vulnerable or marginalised groups’ are met.· Access to information and participation: All people have the right t participate in decision making processes that may affect their rights. All people are given equal access to information concerning water, sanitation and the environment.

· Accountability: Persons or groups denied their right to water and sanitation have access to effective judicial or other appropriate remedies, for example courts, national ombudspersons or human right commissions

Mrs Charles-Monwuba also outlined the role of the Civil Society Organisation including the media in ensuring the right, saying these include the following:· Supporting the work of governments and communities by providing information , facilitating community organisation and assisting communities with their advocacy process· Building community and Government capacity and knowledge on water and sanitation issues, including on rights and responsibilities, management and technical information· Striving to ensure that their activities are coordinated and their work supports and does not duplicate work done by Government, and other civil society organisations or international organisations

· Monitoring Government Actions on water and sanitation and that of third parties.

· Educating students and the broader public about the right to water and sanitation, and sharing research outcomes with all stakeholders

For international civil society organisations, supporting the development and growth national and local civil society organisations and community based organisations.

Another paper was delivered by Engr. Ajisegiri, National Project Coordinator, of the National Urban Water Sector Reform Project Implementation Unit on ‘Water Sector Reform and Private Sector Participation in Nigeria’.

Giving an overview of the Operational challenges in the Sector, he said Water Sector in Nigeria is characterised by the following:· Low operational efficiencies resulting to High unaccounted for water (63% in 1998), and Low productivity (High staff/1000 connections)· Low revenue generation caused by Politically sensitive tariffs, Low billing and collection efficiencies, and Weak financial management· Insufficient financial resources for capital investment· Aging infrastructures· Low institutional capacity· Energy problems, and

· Peri-urban pressure

Engineer Ajisegiri said Water Sector reform revolves around three issues1. Sector policy which includes Broader sector restructuring, Enhancement of investment climate, National water policy reform, Legal reforms at Federal & State levels, Regulatory reform, and Financial & management reform at utility level.2. Institutional Issues such as Operational Shortcomings of SWAs, Enhancement of commercial operations, and Maximising benefits for poverty reduction.

3. Governance Issues including Increased autonomy for SWAs, and Investment capital leverage for water and sanitation

Speaking on the contentious issue of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector, Ajisegiri said this is necessitated by the following factors: The dominance of public enterprises in the provision of water has rendered the sector highly inefficient; Investments in water requires large amounts of capital beyond what Government alone can provide; PPP helps to introduce innovations in the areas of management, technology and capital utilization; PPP in water supply will introduce competition among provider of services and efficiency will be enhanced; and Rapid growth in urbanization & growing poverty require all hands to be on deck in providing access to safe water.

Adding that the Benefits of PPP arrangements that are about to be introduced under the Water Sector Reform Project are Systems Rehabilitation & Expansion; Efficiency and anti-corruption; Reliability & availability of service; Injection of private funds; and Value for money.

Speaking on Sanitation Options, Bisi Agberemi, Project Officer (WASH) with UNICEF – Abuja, said “Hygiene is the practice of keeping yourself and your surroundings clean, especially to avoid illness or the spread of disease whereas Sanitation literally means measures necessary for improving and protecting health and well being of the people- the interventions often include; Safe human excreta disposal, personal hygiene, domestic hygiene, solid waste disposal and waste water disposal. The WHO and UNICEF JMP defines basic sanitation as the lowest-cost technology ensuring hygienic excreta disposal and a clean and healthful living environment both at home and in the neighbourhood of users.

Giving a graphical picture of the importance of Sanitation as the first barrier to Sanitation related diseases, Agberemi said: “One gram of excreta alone can contain: 10,000,000 viruses, 1,000,000 bacteria, 1,000 parasites cysts, and 100 parasites eggs . As such Excreta are the No. 1 Public Enemy !

He stressed the need to introduce Interventions in order to curtail this Public menace, especially since 2008 is being marked globally as the International Year of Sanitation. Such interventions include Hygiene Education and Promotion, School Sanitation and Hygiene, Community Sanitation Promotion, Hand Washing Campaigns, Policy Development, and Institutional Strengthening

Agberemi listed the major factors militating against the implementation of Sanitation and Hygiene programmes in Nigeria as Low priority and funding, Lack of well defined Institutional framework for service delivery, Unfavorable Policy Environment, Weak and Poorly enforced Public Health laws , and Poorly motivated Sector professionals.

Some Benefits of Sanitation and Hygiene are Decrease in mortality and morbidity rates., Increase productivity, reduction in poverty and Economic Development, Improves nutrition and the physical mental growth of children, Improves school enrolment, attendance and performance, and Increase the survival of People living with HIV and AIDS.

To increase focus on Sanitation and Hygiene, Agberemi • Prioritize Sanitation and Hygiene .• Mobilize Political Will.• Demand Approach to Sanitation and Hygiene Development.• Building on Existing practices.• Pay attention to gender.• Sustained Promotional efforts.• Harmonize Institutional Framework for service delivery.• Ensure enabling policy environment.• Enforcement of Existing Sanitation laws.• More involvement of NGOs, CBOs and Private sector.

• Resource mobilization specifically for sanitation and hygiene

During the AGM, Training on Advocacy Journalism in the Water Sector was conducted by Bankole Ebisemiju, Information and Communications officer of Water Aid.

Reminding the participating Journalists that they have a statutory role to play as watch dogs of the Society, Mr. Ebisemiju cited Section 22 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which states that: “ The Press, Radio, Television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this constitution and accountability of the government to the people’“The media is an effective tool for lobbying”:, said Ebisemiju. “ Advocacy Journalism is a gere of Journalism that intentionally and transparently adopts a non objective viewpoint, usually for some social or political purpose; and Journalists can reach decision makers and influence wider public opinion through articles and programmes in the Print and Electronic media”

Another training session on Budget Analysis was conducted by Mr Paul Killebrew, a Sector Analyst with WaterAid Nigeria. He educated the participating Journalists on Budgetary terms such as Revenues, Expenditure, Inflation, Deficit, and Surplus budget; as well as how to read a budget critically, determine the amount being spent at the Federal level on provision of water supply and sanitation.

Other MattersThe AGM received its first annual report, ratified the draft constitution of the Water and Sanitation Media network, and renewed the mandate of the three men Interim Management Committee pending the completion of the legal registration process of the Network. Members of the Committee are: Babatope Babalobi, Regina Eche-Fali, and Omoniyi Omojugbagbe.