YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Women in Cameroon’s capital of Yaounde who deal in water dependent businesses and school going girls are paying a heavy cost, losing out in their business and sacrificing school hours due to harsh weather conditions.Prolonged absence of rain, which experts attribute to climate change and a swelling urban population in the nation’s capital has caused scarcity of portable water, significantly affecting water related business activities that are a major source of income for mostly women as well as well as impaction on the education of the girl children who sacrifice school hours, navigating long distances in search of scarce drinking water.College and primary school authorities in the nation’s capital say water scarcity brings its own set of complications on the education of girl children who traditionally accompany their mothers early in the morning to far distances in search of drinking water that has become scarce because of prolonged drought. As a consequence many do either come very late to school or register regular absences that impact on their studies.“Girls are notorious for coming late to school with a record high absentee rate especially during the dry season periods. We found out this is the result of their early morning duty to accompany their mothers in search of scarce drinking water,” says Moka Charles, Principal of Esperance Bilingual secondary school in Yaounde.Women who run water dependent businesses or economic activity like restaurant, local beer production, laundry services etc in the capital also attest that they suffer a steep decline in their income during the water crisis due total absence or lateness in accessing portable water.“ We are obliged to travel long distances in search of water costing us time and money. This reduces our income because we prepare our food late and so lose most of our customers,” attest Monique Nzogo who runs a restaurant at Obili, a neighbourhood in Yaounde.On the occasion of the celebration of the 2017 World Water Day in Yaounde, school authorities and women involved in water related economic activities have called on government to invest in waste water recycling projects as solution pathway to the crisis.In line with the theme of this year’s celebrations 'Water and Wastewater’, experts say investing in the safe collection, treatment, transportation, and re-use of waste water can provide huge opportunities to improve the quality of life of the poor in urban areas like the city of Yaounde.Women activists and business groups in the nation’s capital are calling on the government to make potable water accessible to them in order to reduce the pain and brunt they bear in accessing water, as well as to check the spread of water-borne diseases and related illnesses threatening lives and livelihood due to scarcity.“ There is an urgent need for government and other stakeholders to take interest in investing in waste water recycling especially during prolonged water scarcity periods . This will greatly help in reducing the water shortage gap in Yaounde,” says Alice Eko vice president of the Mendong…

NAIVASHA, Kenya (PAMACC News) - After weathering the strain of decreasing water levels, Lake Naivasha, the largest fresh water body in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, is faced with a new threat: pollution.Solid waste load from the surrounding economic society is on the rise. Filthy water used to clean fish is drained back into the lake. As pastoralists stress the lake further by driving their livestock into the water body for a thirst break.But it is the increasing volumes of effluent from the surrounding horticultural farms that has led the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to sound alarm about the threat facing the lake.According to Joakim Harlin, head of the Freshwater Unit at UN Environment, nutrient loading from the use of fertilizers and other chemicals by the farm is leading to the spread of colonizers like the water hyacinth.“This has led to the death of fish populations in the lake and the clogging of waterways used by fishermen, leisure boats and wildlife,” says Harlin. Pollution is also putting pressure on the Lake Naivasha habitats, argues Fleur Ng’weno, of Nature Kenya.According to her, hundreds of migratory bird species which nest in the Lake could be affected by the increasing pollution.Unique plant life found there too is being affected by pollution, including the irregular rise and fall of water levels, she says.Yet, the Nakuru County government depends on tourism flow there, which is second to Mombasa, to boost its revenues. The community also depends on the lake to feed their domestic water needs, she adds.“Lake Naivasha is now supporting a powerful horticultural industry, a growing population of flower farm workers, geothermal energy production, intense fishing and a runaway building boom,” says Ng’weno.However, not everything looks cloudy for the lake. UNEP, in collaboration with partners pooled a group of volunteers to help clean Lake Naivasha to mark the World Water Day.The volunteers managed to collect solid waste weighing hundreds of tonnes, which was later taken to the community cooker for incineration, according to Lis Mullin Bernhardt, the cleanup lead.“The purpose of the cleanup was to raise awareness about the increasing pollution facing the lake and show the community that they are not alone in conserving this water body of international importance,” said Bernhardt, who is also the UNEP Freshwater Unit Programme Officer.

DURBAN, South Africa (PAMACC News) - Arising from the 2017 World Water Day Celebrations and the Global Launch of the UN World Water Development Report 2017 entitled: “Wastewater: The Untapped Resource" which ended yesterday in Durban, the Republic of South Africa, water and sanitation ministers from across Africa have adopted the Durban Political Declaration for accelerating the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The adoption of the political declaration which coincided with the announcement of the “Call for Action” towards the implementation of the SDGs with particular emphasis on Goal-6 (Water and Sanitation) was graced by members of the High Level Panel on Water (HLPW), leaders of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), Inter-sectoral Ministers, UNESCO Special Envoy for Water in Africa, UN Agencies, private sector and civil society leaders. The Durban Political Declaration agreed by all Political leaders mirrors the key principles, pillars and vision of the African Union, AMCOW, and HLPW Action Plan in support of the implementation of the SDGs. The Political Declaration seeks to encourage the acceleration plans and programmes and commit to the rollout of the Action Plan initiative. In this latest declaration which recalled the African Union Heads of State and Government decision on the implementation of the July 2008 Assembly Declaration on the Sharm El Sheikh Commitments for Accelerating the Achievement of Water and Sanitation Goals in Africa; the eThekwini Declaration on Sanitation and its accompanying actions adopted in South Africa in February 2008; as well as the recent Dar Es Salaam Roadmap for Achieving the N’gor Commitments on Water Security and Sanitation in Africa adopted in Dar Es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania 26th July 2016, water, sanitation and inter-sectoral ministers from the five Africa sub-regions resolved and committed themselves to supporting and strengthening the implementation of SDG-6 and related goals by ensuring coherence in the implementation of our policies in line with the HLPW Action Plan. The ministers also declared their commitment to supporting and sharing the best Practice Models initiatives championed by regional leaders who serve as members of the High Level Panel on Water, notably Presidents of Senegal, South Africa and Mauritius. This, according to the declaration, is in line with the Africa Water Vision 2025 which envisages “an Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation, socio-economic development, regional cooperation, and the environment”. Recalling the aspirations and commitments espoused in Africa’s Agenda 2063 which envisions the optimal use of Africa’s resources towards ensuring positive socio-economic transformation; the 2004 Sirte Declaration on integrated development of Agriculture and Water in Africa; and the 2008 Tunis Declaration on Accelerating Water Security for Africa’s Socio-Economic Development; the High Level Political Declaration commits African governments to increasing budgetary allocation to match the central role of water security and sanitation in Agenda 2030 and in line with the Sharm El Sheikh declaration. To drive this, the ministers urged the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW, African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Union Commission…

ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to creating jobs for millions of its unemployed citizens through the completion of dam projects across the country. The Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu, made this known on Wednesday in Abuja at an event held to commemorate the 2017 World Water Day.According to Engr Adamu, “the ministry has completed the construction of Galma Dam in Kaduna State, which will provide over 1.1 million jobs after the irrigation system has been properly deployed."“Other abandoned dam projects like Central Ogbia Water Supply, the Adada River Dam in Enugu State; among others, have been resuscitated," he said.The minister believes that the recently launched water sector roadmap for Nigeria articulates the objectives of the Federal Government in developing the nation’s water resources toward the actualisation of the sector’s potential over short, medium and long term periods.“The road map will support sustainable development in the water sector, the nation’s food security goals and guarantee lasting prosperity for Nigeria“ he added.Engr. Adamu also linked the theme for this year’s celebration “Water and Wastewater“ to the Federal Government’s commitment to harnessing wastewater resources for sustainable development.Speaking earlier, Mrs Rabi Jimeta, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, said the 2017 World Water Day highlights relationship between water and wastewater in the quest for sustainable development.“Participants at this meeting will get an opportunity to learn more about the theme of this year’s World Water Day, and how wastewater is perceived as valuable resources in the secular economy,“ she said.