The Vice-President, Ms Samia Suluhu
Hassan, said this yesterday in Dar es Salaam at the opening of the 10th
African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW).
The AMCOW General Assembly was preceded
by the 6th Africa Water Week which commenced on July 18 to 22 with the
theme ‘achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on water
security and sanitation.’
According to the VP, recent global
statistics show that about 800 million people still lack access to safe
water, while about 2.5 million do not have access to improved
sanitation. “Almost these affected people live in developing world and
particularly in Africa which accounts for 40 per cent of this
population,” Ms Hasan said. She added that within an hour, about 400
people mostly children are likely to die in the continent from water
linked diseases.
It is estimated that 60 per cent of
hospital beds in developing countries are occupied by people suffering
from water related diseases.
Ms Hassan said that the common resolve
by Africans to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets on
water and sanitation has helped about 322 million Africans to have
gained access to safe and drinking water and 189 million have access to
an improved sanitation.
She, however, said that Africa is
currently experiencing high population growth and expansion of its
cities accompanied by accelerated economic activities, thus call for
collaborative efforts to make deliberate considerations on the
requirements for water related sanitation.
“These challenges are many and require
bold and decisive solutions … we must tackle future challenges by
diversifying our sources of water and being innovative in our financing
mechanisms, taking into account huge funding requirements for the
sector,” Ms Hassan observed.
She added that there was a need for
agency of mobilising funds to put the right infrastructure and skilled
manpower to develop and manage the sector more efficiently. Ms Hassan,
however, reaffirmed the commitment by the fifth phase government to
initiate strategic industrial growth in key areas including adding value
to agricultural products.
“This anticipated industrial growth is
likely to attract expansion of the agricultural sector with notable
expansion of irrigated land and general increase in farming activities
in the country.
She said more water abstraction from the
ecosystem will be required in a sustainable manner in order to achieve
sustainable development. Speaking to the ‘Daily News’, AMCOW Executive
Secretary, Mr Bai Mass Taal, said that attainment of SGDs need proper
financing mechanism.
According to him, Africa needs 11
billion USD per year for the implementation of its projects, thus
without proper financing it will be difficult for the continent to
achieve its goals. He called upon African governments to allocate more
funds for the water sector in order to address the impending problems.
“This conference is crucial because it gives us an opportunity to sit
down and draw out our strategies and road map on financial mechanisms to
achieve the SGDs.”
Mr Taal said. He further noted that
African governments should act now on water problems facing its people,
adding that approximately 340 million people in Africa have no access to
drinking water. Mr Taal commended the development partners for
supporting Africa in water and sanitation projects and called for
further support for the continent to attain SDGs.
For her part, African Union Commissioner
for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Ms Rhoda Tumisiime, said that the
theme for the 6th Africa Water week and the 10th AMCOW General Assembly
is timely because it is in line with the theme of the 2016 AU summit.
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