The right to safe water just a dream for many

By Eva Krafczyk Jul 27, 2011, 15:23 GMT

Nairobi/Maparasha, Kenya - Access to safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water has been recognized as a basic human right by the United Nations for a year now, but millions in Africa still suffer from the effects of water shortages and drought.

When Amos Ntari hears of the catastrophic famine unfolding in the Horn of Africa, the young ethnic Maasai is reminded of the hunger and drought suffered two years ago by the people of his village of Maparasha in the Kajado region close to the Tanzanian border.

At that time, most families lost all their livestock and with it, the foundations of their prosperity and well-being.

No-one in the village died of hunger, but the water shortages destroyed the community's ability to maintain its livelihood.

Lack of water - especially clean water - is not a problem only for the Maasai village of Maparasha, but it is estimated that nearly 900 million people worldwide are denied access to this essential resource.

Nearly 2 million people die every year from diseases such as cholera that are caused by contaminated water.

Most of the victims are children, the majority of whom live in Africa. A child dies on average every three seconds somewhere in the world due to a lack of access to safe and clean water.

On July 28, 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution initiated by Bolivia declaring the right to water and sanitation as a human right.

'Diarrhoea is the second most common cause of death amongst children. Contaminated water kills more people than AIDS, malaria and measles combined,' Bolivia's UN ambassador Pablo Solon said.

However, the human right provision is not binding under international law, meaning that access to water and sanitation remains a dream for millions of people.

The problem is familiar to the people of Maparasha, where approximately 800 semi-nomadic Maasai live. Frequently recurring drought has long been a problem for the region, but climate change has made the situation in Africa dramatically more noticeable.

The traditional cycle of rainy and dry seasons has been disrupted. Ever-diminishing rainfall has led to severe drought across large parts of the Horn of Africa, affecting farmers and nomads alike.

Now, however, the natural water pools found in the hills around Maparasha have been harnessed as reservoirs for rainwater as part of a long-term drought control project funded by the German aid agency Welthungerhilfe.

The rainwater is piped into tanks that are capable of storing up to 6,500 cubic metres of water, enough to help people through periods of drought.

A fourth tank is currently being built. It will increase the amount of water the reservoir collects around 9,000 cubic litres a year, according to water expert Catherine Wanjiru.

'The possibilities haven't been exhausted yet,' she says.

Any water that the villagers in Maparasha don't need is sold to the neighbouring villages.

'People were initially very sceptical about whether this could work,' says project manager Jackson Nabaala.

'Everyone went up into the hills after the first rains to see the tanks filling up,' he said.

The intensity of tropical rainfall means that a tank, which provides enough water for a month, can be filled in a single day.

The access to a regular water supply has allowed the village women to plant vegetable gardens and keep bees for honey, both welcome extra income sources and the basis for improved family nutrition.

'We are now in a better position to survive droughts,' says a satisfied Ntari. 'However, lots of other villages in Maasailand continue to suffer when the rains fail to come.'