Although lack of access to safe water and improved sanitation is one aspect most people have taken for granted, the resultant health and economic repercussions cannot be neglected – the toll on human life is immense.

According to WaterAid  an international charity organisation that focuses on improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in poor communities the health-threatening effects of unsafe water and lack of improved sanitation have persisted and increased because of low budgetary allocation to the sector.

In its 2013 water and sanitation report following a study done on the accessibility to safe water and improved sanitation in five African countries, it is noted that more needs to be done to improve accessibility.

The study, which was done in Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone, cites the Government’s failure to fulfil most of the international commitments signed to increase and provide satisfactory and timely funds to the sector as a major cause of low access to safe water.

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