Water and sanitation

Lack of water and sufficient sanitation has been a constant struggle for the people of Sudan. It is estimated that less than 30 per cent of the population of southern Sudan has reliable access to safe, clean water. Inadequate access to water most affects women and children, who are not only responsible for retrieving water and cultivating crops but also bear the brunt of caring for those stricken by water-born diseases and suffer higher rates or mortality.

Areas such as schools and hospitals have been particularly lacking in adequate facilities. Efforts have been made to create a better environment, with UNICEF stepping in to bring much needed clean water and sanitation facilities to the region.

The major problems have been the lack of facilities that have led to people polluting the already polluted surrounding environment, with children having to carry their own daily water supply to school from home. This has led to various inconveniences, with books being ruined and supplies being exhausted by the end of the day, meaning that children have to go to churches, mosques or even restaurants to refill their water bottles.

Many towns suffered greatly following the difficulties brought to an end by the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005 between the Sudanese government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). For years, tensions between the north and the south regions of Sudan hindered communities’ ability to improve water access, while competition over water further acerbated these tensions. The expected return of more than two million internally displaced persons will further strain collective resources and challenge social stability

Long before that agreement was signed, UNICEF had entered into projects with the Ministry of Education and the National Water Corporation to provide areas such as schools and hospitals with water supply, sanitation facilities and hygiene education.

One particular success story has been the School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE) Project, which began in 2001 and subsequently expanded in 2002. The project has continued its progress since at a steady rate of development. Under the project the schools are provided with adequate water and sanitation facilities, with 31 teachers having been trained on school hygiene issues and several schools having started student health clubs to oversee the appropriateness of using the water and sanitation facilities.

Water projects in Sudan must incorporate community-based conflict analysis and management, if they are not to create more tension than they alleviate. More than 40 boreholes have therefore been constructed, with a Sustainable Community Water Management Committee formed, equipped and trained in each community to promote their sustainability and to positively influence community attitudes and practices related to water, hygiene and sanitation.

Another initiative is the Water for Recovery and Peace Program (WRAPP), whose purpose is to improve access to sustainable safe water for rural communities, with a special emphasis on the Bahr el Ghazal, Nuba Mountains, Upper Nile and South Blue Nile regions, where returning populations are placing increasing pressure on existing sources.

The Water Development Program

The potential solution to the problem of water sanitation comes in the form of the Water Development Program, a project set up to bring to market an environmentally friendly, biological and non-chemical solution to the contaminated water problem affecting so much of the developing world, from humans to livestock to fish and agricultural projects.

The Water Development Program brings to the market two revolutionary products:

• One-Drop – designed to decontaminate water at the point of use, for smaller-scale personal consumption
• Bacsan – designed for larger scale use in polluted reservoirs, rivers and other water sources

The Water Development Program aims to provide safe drinking water for all, free of Algae, Bacteria, Bleach, Chlorea, Chlorine, Ecoli, Bilharza, Fungi and other water-borne diseases, improving the quality of the water supply for those tendering arable land and dealing in livestock, as well as the quality of life for those dependent on water in polluted areas.

Products are derived from a non-hazardous no-chemical solution produced magnetically through the formation of ions in the water, free of harmful chemicals and toxins. The purification qualities found are similar to those of mineral salts – the best natural water purifier know to mankind. They also act as a sterilising agent, know to possess healing qualities.

The beauty of the products developed by the Water Development Program is in the simplicity of the production process. With no need for complex or expensive machinery to produce ionised water, the products can simply be added straight from the bottle to contaminated water.

For more information, please visit the Water Development Program website.