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Typhoid kills five people in Harare

tracy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:34:08 +0000

ZIMBABWE: Typhoid kills five people (IRIN) HARARE – Typhoid fever has killed five people in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, and 30 others were being treated for the bacterial disease, the city’s health director, Stanley Mungofa, told a media briefing on 9 March 2010.

The epicentre of the outbreak is the high-density suburb of Mabvuku. In the past two years the township has rarely experienced a reliable supply of water, forcing residents to dig shallow wells, which are easily polluted by ablutions and waste.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “Typhoid fever is a bacterial disease, caused by Salmonella typhi. It is transmitted through the ingestion of food or drink contaminated by the faeces or urine of infected people.”

Read full IRIN article.

Kampala’s government to boost sanitation

tracy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:28:43 +0000

Government to boost sanitation (The Observer) KAMPALA, Uganda – Mutagamba was reacting to questions raised about Kampala’s unbecoming hygiene as a result of poor sewerage and water systems, which expose city residents to a big risk of water borne diseases, at the Second Eastern Africa Sanitation Conference.

The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), the body responsible for the city’s water supply and sewerage treatment, has always warned that their systems are overwhelmed because they were planned to handle a small number of dwellers in the early post colonial years. Kampala’s population has grown to 3million people over the past five years.

Read full The Observer article.

Marsabit, Kenya welcomes dam but wonders if it will ever fill

tracy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:45:26 +0000

Marsabit welcomes dam, but wonders if water will ever fill it (Daily Nation) MARSABIT TOWN, Kenya – A first-time visitor to Marsabit town might be surprised at the frequent sight of large numbers of teenagers — especially girls — crowding around a water tap with jerricans.

And most of these children have abandoned school to help their parents fetch water for domestic use and for livestock.

Ending the water problem in the town, residents have argued, would not only put a stop to the high drop out rate in schools but would also attract investors.

Read full Daily Nation article.

Kenya likely to miss Millennium Development Goals

tracy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:35:27 +0000

Economic blueprint at risk over water shortage (The East African) – The perennial freshwater shortage in Kenya, largely blamed on inefficiency in water resource management, threatens the country’s efforts towards achieving Vision 2030 and the Millennium Development Goals, economists warn.

They say that the situation in Kenya is a reflection of what is happening in East Africa, despite the fact that the region has numerous freshwater resources in Lake Victoria — the second largest freshwater lake in the world; the River Nile; Lake Tanganyika — the second deepest lake in the world and Lake Malawi.

Read full The East African article.

India’s ground water table to dry up in 15 years

tracy — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:03:50 +0000

India’s ground water table to dry up in 15 years (Deccan Herald) NEW DELHI – About 60 per cent of aquifers in India will be in a critical condition in another 15 years if the trend of indiscriminate exploitation of ground water continues, the World Bank has said in a report.

Read full Deccan Herald article.

World facing water crisis says U.N. adviser

tracy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:12:25 +0000

World facing water crisis, U.N. adviser tells group in Berks (Reading Eagle) – United Nations adviser Frederik Pischke says the world is facing a water crisis. Pischke said the lack of water and sanitation is a silent crisis being overshadowed by more dramatic ecological issues.

“Two in 10 people globally don’t have access to safe drinking water,” Pischke said. “The number is based on a person having to travel more than a half an hour to obtain enough water to clean and nourish themselves.

“Four in 10 don’t have access to basic sanitation. That means they don’t have a basic pit latrine.”

Read full Reading Eagle article.

Water Shortage Hits Takoradi, Ghana

tracy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:46:05 +0000

Water Shortage Hits Takoradi (Peace FM) TAKORADI – Residents of the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis who have, in the past three weeks, been wandering with their gallons, buckets, rubber bowls and other containers in search of water as a result of the acute water shortage that has hit the area, are fuming with rage and describing the Atta Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government as insensitive to the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.

Read full Peace FM article.

Africa water project captures difficulty of global struggle

tracy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:30:32 +0000

Africa Water Project Captures Difficulty Of Global Struggle (True/Slant) MIAMI – The Solomon’s expanded project failed to get off the ground several years ago. But nothing much has changed. Water projects around the world often fail or don’t get started at all for a common, fundamental reason: No one is in charge on this issue. There is no dominant, agreed upon policy that could knit together the many well-intentioned small projects and, at the same time, encourage the multitude of political leaders to step in and do something meaningful. The work that is being done is fragmented, sometimes contradictory. Maintenance is often overlooked. The issue is near the bottom of everyone’s agenda.

Read full True/Slant article.

East African countries urged to boost access to water

tracy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:48:19 +0000

East Africa: EA Countries Urged to Boost Access to Water (The New Times) KIGALI – East African countries have been called upon to scale up interventions that aim at attaining the commitments of the EThekwini Declaration that was signed by member states as part of the measures that will boost water access and hygiene progress.

Based on various presentations from a number of countries, it was noted that most governments do not have specific budgets for sanitation and hygiene initiatives.

Read full The New Times article.

India is the largest user of groundwater

tracy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:56:24 +0000

India is the largest user of groundwater: World Bank study (Kalinga Times) NEW DELHI – India is the largest user of groundwater in the world, with an estimated use of 230 cubic kilometers of groundwater every year – more than a quarter of the global total. In fact, groundwater use has been steadily increasing in India over the last 4-5 decades. Today, supports approximately 60 percent of irrigated agriculture and more than 80 percent of rural and supplies, says a new World Bank report launched today.

Read full Kalinga Times article.