Can Africa Afford to Miss the MDG for sanitation?

The state of sanitation and hygiene in Africa presents “an overall worrying situation” and the region could miss the sanitation MDG by hundreds of millions people, according to a recently concluded review in 32 countries.

A report commissioned by AMCOW and its partners concludes that few countries in Africa are expected to achieve the global targets unless approaches to sanitation change. For Africa to meet the target, the number of persons served must more than double from 350 million in 2006 to 760 million by 2015. That still leaves almost 400 million un-served. The report, Can Africa Afford to Miss the Sanitation MDG Target? A review of the sanitation and hygiene status in 32 countries, documents both the progress and barriers facing countries in their quest to achieve their sanitation MDG. It identifies common challenges and issues across countries and discusses some possible solutions and options based on the innovations which are already taking place within the continent and elsewhere in the world.

The lessons learned are important for replication and to help achieve scale and impact; these last two being crucial for MDG achievement in Africa. This report is a valuable resource for anyone working in the sanitation sector. It provides up-to-date comparative data for the region as well as information on strategic areas such as national policies and institutional frameworks for sanitation within each country; financing and resources; capacity and monitoring and evaluation. The report also raises awareness of the state of sanitation within countries, and at regional and global levels. Armed with this document the evidence is irrefutable: the Africa region requires a mighty effort from all stakeholders to achieve the MDG on sanitation.