WaterAid says sub-Saharan Africa may not achieve MDGs in 2015 -

WaterAid, an international charity organization had revealed that most countries of sub-Saharan African may fail to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) pledge to have half of their populace in good sanitary position by 2015.

A press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet, endorsed by the Chief Executive of WaterAid, Barbara Frost, the 2015 MDG target will take over 20 years for Sub-Saharan African states to meet the sanitation goal.

According to the international charity organization, only 20 countries in the region are on the tract to meet the water MDG target of 2015, and this have great effects on child mortality rate on the continent.

WaterAid advised countries in the region to spend not less that 3.5 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in order to get the sanitation and water target of the MDGs for the region.

Additionally, they called on donor countries and organisations to increase their global aid flows to water, sanitation and hygiene by making a yearly priority of extra US$10billion, about N1, 587 trillion.

WaterAid emphasized that the poorest people on the continent are those left behind, revealing that poor people in Africa are five times less likely to have access to adequate sanitation and over 15 times more likely to practice open defecation than rich Africans.

Further, WaterAid advised governments to tackle the inequity by targeting of water, sanitation resources and services to the poor.

Yinka Awosanya/LS

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