NAMIBIA: new measures to accelerate access to sanitation by 2027
In Namibia, the government is making new commitments to increase the rate of access to sanitation to 67% by 2027. These commitments will result in the multiplication of sanitation facilities throughout Namibia.
While the rate of access to sanitation remains low in Namibia, barely 46% in 2023 according to official figures, the government of this southern African country is taking new measures to improve this essential service, the aim of which is to protect health and the environment against the risks linked to the discharge of industrial and domestic wastewater. Namibia's Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform (MALWR), Calle Schlettwein, presented these measures at the first Namibia Regional Water Symposium (NRWS), held on 17-18 October 2023 , under the general theme of “water and sanitation for all: achieving sustainability and security”.
Among them is an “innovative” approach that will involve setting up an in-house team made up of qualified professionals such as masons and plumbers, as well as members of the community. It is these professionals who will be responsible for building new sanitation facilities within communities. The objective is to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of sanitation projects in Namibia.
These will be accessible and sustainable sanitation systems, that is to say capable of resisting climate change while preserving the health of populations.
A constructive dialogue on sanitation and hygiene challenges will also be held in the country led by Hage Geingob. It is expected to be launched at the Africa Sanitation Conference (Africasan), which is being held from November 6-11, 2023 in Swakopmund, a resort town on the Atlantic coast of Namibia. The ambition of the Namibian government is to increase the rate of access to sanitation to 67% by 2027.
