Thursday 29 October 2015


The situation of access to clean water and sanitation in Africa is extremely challenging. Urban areas are facing a host of challenges due to their rapid growth in recent years (The Water Project). The accelerated growth of urbanisation and therefore the monumental increase in people residing in cities has amplified the demand for accessible water and sanitation services. In much of the literature surrounding this topic it has been argued that the provision of basic services such as access to clean water and sanitation has not kept pace with this urban growth and therefore this has caused problems for those living in the urban areas. One of the main amenities that has been unable to keep pace with the rate of urbanisation, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa is that of the development of wastewater management systems. This has led to the pollution of sources of natural water, which those residing in area, rely on, causing adverse effects in terms of health. Drinking the polluted water can lead to water-related, diarrhoeal diseases, which is a problem not only in Africa but all over the world with 1 billion cases of water-related, diarrhoeal diseases each year, involving 3 to 4 million deaths in which most are children each year (WHO 2000).  Clearly this is an issue which needs to be addressed and over the next few weeks I hope to explore the different strategies and systems that are being developed to comeback the pollution of these water bodies in Africa.

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