Water summit date set

… Dr. Bishop Choomba says there is no alternative to water in the quest to promote good hygiene practices

By Francis Maingaila

Lusaka (25-04-19) The Zambia Water Forum (ZAWAFE) has set 10 to 12 May 2019 as the dates for water summit which will take place at Mulungushi International Conference Centre under the theme : “The impact of sanitation pf water security in Sub saharan Africa: towards the implementation of sustainable development goals  (SDG) #6.”
ZAWAFE chairperson Prof. Imasiku Nyambe told journalists during the media breakfast meeting that the water summit is designed to raise public awareness on the importance of  not only water and sanitation but also good hygiene practices.
“The annual event which began in 2011 will attract key players and experts from the SADC region and beyond who will not only deliberate on the importance of good practices but exhibit their products.”
Prof. Nyambe regretted that many countries in the Sub Sahara region including Zambia still face many challenges of poor sanitation.
Globally, Prof. Nyambe explained, cholera still remain a major problem with an estimation of between 40 -80 million people living in cholera hotspots.
Approximately, 2.9 million cholera cases are reported annually in the world and 1.3 billion persons are at the risk of the infection.
A period between October 2017 and April 2018, Zambia alone recorded 5,905 cases of cholera of which 98 people died of cholera.
He indicated that, cholera still remain an endemic due to unsanitary practices like open defecation, poor solid waste and water disposal.
Unless this problem is addressed, Prof. Nyambe explained, Zambia risk to miss achieving the goal number six of the Sustainable development goals.
It is for this reason that, ZAWAFE is focusing its attention to exploring the impact of poor sanitation, water resources and supply chain.
The overarching goal is to minimise the lose of life and livelihood from water borne diseases arising from from water contamination due to poor sanitation.
Additionally, Prof. Nyambe explained, ZAWAFE will have everything to do with issues surrounding water security due to climate and water management practices.
Other areas of focus are the implementation of the SDG no 6 on water in the sub Sahara Africa, water related policies and legal instruments, including evaluating the cost of cholera and other water borne diseases alone with the role of innovation and technology in the water and sanitation sector.
And speaking when he officiated at the dissemination launch of the ZAWAFE, MWDSEP permanent secretary  Dr. Dr. Bishop Edie Choomba observed that the absence of good hygiene practices is causing the Sub Sahara Africa to lose about 4.3% GDP.
Bishop Choomba told journalists that region has no excuse but to invest in the water.
According to Bishop Choomba, there is no alternative to water in the quest to promote good hygiene practices.
He said in order to achieve the SDG no 6, the governments must pay attention to sanitation more now than ever before.
As a measure to improve the sanitation and good hygiene practices, Bishop Choomba proposed to fix a law that will criminalise the open defecation practices.
He said introducing good water and waste management was key to preventing water borne diseases including cholera.
Meanwhile Bishop Choomba disclosed that the projects the government has put in place to facilitate the provision of clean water both in rural and urban areas are near completion.
He said in some provinces, the government is sinking Dams, water pumps and kiosks all designed at ensuring that, the people have cleaner and running water.
For Zambia, Bishop said, there is no excuse for failing to provide clean water to the people because the country is blessed with large body of water in the SADC region.