It is quite clear that the quality and cleanliness of our water are in dire need of intervention. Water and sanitation are essential for life and health, but they are also essential for dignity, empowerment and prosperity. In Uganda, poor sanitation and hygiene, as well as unequal access to safe drinking water, make thousands of children very sick and at risk of death due to waterborne diseases and poor sanitation such as typhoid, diarrhoea and cholera. Mentioned diseases are spread due to a lack of clean water to help the wash their hands and soap to keep them extra clean. In this discussion, we will talk about different ideas we can adopt as a country or even as an individual to help achieve goal 6 of SDGs.

CLEAN DRINKING WATER

There is a common saying that emphasizes how charity begins at home. I would like to take an alternative step to say, that safe drinking water begins at home. As we all may know, our country’s tap water is unsafe for drinking and so, a household would need to adequately boil their drinking water. Waterborne disease can be reduced by improving hygiene and using Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage (HWTS) that makes water safe at the point of use. There are various options available for a household to keep its water clean. Another option includes the use of chlorine. Even still many companies have come up to manufacture water supply that is safe to drink. Such companies provide different methods such as providing purifiers that filter water while others provide bottled water in large quantities.

IMPROVE EXISTING AND MAKE NEW FAMILY WELLS/ BOREHOLES.

In the rural areas of Africa, water is rarely scarce. The common source of water here is from wells and in other places boreholes. There is a common assumption that water from boreholes and wells is safe and clean for drinking, however many water management experts have shared that there is no guarantee that this water is safe from contamination. For example, in instances where a borehole grows old, its rust can contaminate the water that is collected and this will cause different diseases over time. Water collected from waste is subject to contamination from rainwater and even still for us to achieve goal 6 of the United Nation’s SDGs, the maintenance of these water sources must be emphasised.

The government of Ethiopia for example promotes self-supply. It plans to reach 20 million people by improving existing wells and making new wells combined with low-cost pumps such as rope pumps. They support self-supply by giving five families a pump if these families themselves invest in a well. This is a step in the right direction.

WASH CENTERS IN EACH COUNTRY.

There is no greater power than an empowered community. Our governments and NGOs play a huge role in developing supply chains, training the local private sector in production and repairs, developing policies, and monitoring and quality control through certification. To do this, the private sector, NGOs and governments need to know. This includes the training of good technicians, designers, managers and other skilled professionals who are needed for whatever technology and service model are used. A lot of effort and energy needs to be given put to train enterprises, NGOs and governments in innovation.

There is a need for at least one WASH training centre in each country. A perfect example of a WASH centre is the SHIPO SMART Centre in Tanzania. This centre has helped provide improved water sources to 500,000 people through 3000 hand-drilled wells and 11,000 rope pumps, of which some 6000 are self-supply.

SENSITIZATION OF COMMUNITY.

Nothing helps create change more than the power of educating the people. On top of hiring different personnel to help achieve this sustainable goal, it would be completely useless if the communities affected had no knowledge of the steps to take. The perfect example would have been during the COVID-19 pandemic when there were various posters, and media communications on how to protect ourselves from attaining the disease. There was such a high call for sanitation in that season that has even been carried out today.
In Uganda, health centers, government organizations and NGOs can take on this task.

By 2030, everyone shall have safe water to drink.

– Global Goals