Presentation: Gender Assessment For Sustainable Development: A Nigerian Case Study

Gender Assessment for Sustainable Water and Sanitation Development: A Nigerian Case Study Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji Project Coordinator /CEO Rural Africa Water Development Project (RAWDP) Presentation prepared by Kelly Miller, University at Buffalo

Outline • Introduction o Nigerian Situation, Burden on Females, Gender and Planning

• Case Study o Methodology, The City, WATSAN Situation, Profile of Water Utility, Alternate Water Supply, Distance Collecting Water, Daily Water Use, Common Diseases

• Assessment Overview o Pro-poor Governance, Urban Sanitation, Water Demand Management

• Water as the Kernel of Sustainable Development o Integrated Water Resources Management

• Conclusion o Important Arguments, Constraints on WATSAN, Need for Gender Assessments

Introduction: Nigerian Situation • Increased water resources development since 1960 Nigerian independence • Each state has State Water Supply Agency (SWA) • Federal Government, NGOs, international agencies and banks intervene • Fundamental Problems with WATSAN

Introduction: Fundamental Problems • • •

Lack of safe sources of water supply Inadequate means of human waste disposal Transmission of diseases because of inadequate awareness of heath problems o i.e. The habit of defecating and urinating in the bush, close to the home or near water sources

• High endemic cases of diarrhea diseases in most of the city o Caused by infrequent washing of hands and the indiscriminate disposal of waste and domestic water

Introduction: Burden on Females •Millions of women and girls in underserved communities •Trek long distances, then wait in line to fill their buckets with water •Often takes several hours

•Carrying water on head, back or hip •Typical container holds 20 L, so weighs 20 kg •Commonly experience backache and joint pains •Extreme cases: spine and pelvic deformities •Creates complications in pregnancy and childbirth

•Consequences for children, especially girls •Restricts attendance at school •Reduces time for play

Introduction: Gender and Planning • United Nations decade for women in 1975 o Until then, women’s reproductive, productive and community management roles and potentials were marginalized and left out

• Development planning was gender insensitive because: o Interaction between indigenous culture and colonial patriarchy o Religion, traditionalism, capitalist ideologies

• Gender gap in access to water remains o Despite relatively recent international commitments

Methodology Collection of both primary and secondary data • Household surveys o 1500 questionnaires distributed, 1400 collected o 800 women, 600 men

• • • •

Transect walk Observations Workshops etc. Focus Group Discussions

Gwarandok Focus Group

Gwarandok Interview

The City

• Jos is the capital of Plateau State, Nigeria. • Population of 1.2 million people (1991 census) o 46.9% of the Plateau State population • Area of 1322 square kilometers • Annual rainfall in Jos varies from 131.75cm to 146cm

Economic Activities of Jos Residents

Men Women

Most of the women are full time housewives

WATSAN Situation Agenda 21 says: All people have the right to have access to drinking water in quantities and of quality equal to their basic needs •As of 2004: 40-54% of the population had potable water access o Less than that number had access to good sanitation •Jos is still far from meeting: o the WHO minimum of 200 litres/capita/day in cities o the UN-habitat quantity availability of at least 20 litres/person/day • ~less than 10% and without excessive effort and < 1 hour a day

WATSAN Situation Worsened • Situation worsened by: o widespread occurrence of non-yielding community water wells o absence of piped house connections o inability to afford the rates of water vendors/tankers

Profile of Water Utility Provider • Plateau State Water Board (PSWB) o supplies water to urban and semi-urban areas, especially Jos o supplies pipelines, maintains water and collects money • Sells metered water at N60 (USD $ 0.44) per cubic meter o N1.02 (USD$0.08) per jerry can of water sold o Most common: N450 (USD$3.3) per household per month • Spends ~ N30million (USD $ 221k) monthly to run operations o 48% of this is internally generated o 52% of the amount is from the State Government or other cost saving measures • Efforts towards greater and more efficient services

Management Positions in PSWB in 2005

• 7 members of the Board of Directors • Only Commissioner is female

Female PSWB Staff Members

Current Status of PSWB • State-owned agency • Unable to generate sufficient funds from consumers

o Limits the provision of sustainable water supply in parts of Jos

• PSWB presently has a total of 4 schemes in the city o Combined design capacity of 101mld o 15,700 connections

• Treated water from the PSWB

o Good water quality o Serves approximately 728,000 people • Water availability is irregular o Shortfall of half a million people • Their water is from private boreholes, water vendors or local streams

Alternate Water Supply • Availability o shallow city wells • around ¾ of them: o dry up or little yield in dry season, or collapse in wet season • cannot provide for more than half of the residents during the dry season o increase in drinking water demand during the dry season •Factors resulting in waterborne diseases o Use of a single water source for multiple purposes • drinking, bathing, washing and animal rearing o Unsafe handling and storage of water

Distance covered in collecting water

< 0.5km

0.5-1.0 km

Wet Season

Dry Season

Males

Males

Females

Females

1.1- 2.0 km

> 2.0 km .

Daily Water Use

Common diseases

Water-related Common Diseases Suffered by Jos Residents Class of waterrelated disease

Seasonal Occurrence

Victims %

Men Women Malaria*

Insect vector mechanism

Endemic

Diarrhea

Waterborne/washed Endemic

Typhoid

Waterborne

Dysentery

Waterborne/washed Endemic

Dry season

Guinea *Malariaworm* and GuineaWaterborne worm were not listed on the Endemic questionnaire but have been specified by some mothers

Cholera

Waterborne

Wet season

Pro-Poor Governance • State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (SEEDS) o Aims to increase women’s representation to at least 30% in all programs o Affordable housing, sanitation, aims to increase water access to 60% of the population

•

National Water and Sanitation Policy o Involves Federal, State and Local Government Councils

Poor Urban Involvement • Involvement lacking in WATSAN governance o Covert repression of women’s participation • No financial mechanism in place to help them benefit from safe, affordable WATSAN • No mitigation strategies in place to assist females o Need water and sanitation more than males o Cleaning, laundry, household chores

Urban Sanitation • Residents of Jos do not view sanitation as a problem • Inadequate sanitation infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods • Sanitation at schools: o Pit latrines • Girls seek improvement because of itching caused • Absent from school during menstrual period • Government’s responsibility o State Agency: Jos Metropolitan Development Board o Local government does not accept responsibility

Type of Toilet Facilities Households Use

Pit Latrine

41% 11%

48%

Pour flush toilet No toilet /open defecation

Water Demand Management • PSWB does not meet RAAC tests • Unserved poor more willing to pay for water • Jos does not have: o Water demand audit o Water demand management strategy

• PSWB lacks exact records of its supply coverage

Jos community leader

Water As The Kernel of Sustainable Development Countries need to ensure accessible supplies of unpolluted water • Improve health, reduce

child mortality, advance women’s status & other benefits • Urban, peri-Urban, rural

livelihoods; food; energy; private sector growth; ecosystem integrity

Integrated Water Resources Management Seeks to: • Avoid the lives lost, the money wasted, and the natural capital depleted • Ensure that water is developed and managed equitably o Diverse water needs of women and the poor are addressed

• Ensure that water is used to advance a country’s social and economic development goals o In ways that do not compromise ecosystem or future water sustainability

Dublin Principles for IWRM • Effective management of water resources demands a holistic approach • Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach • Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water • Water should be recognized as an economic good

Conclusion: Constraints on WATSAN • Effectiveness: how well objective is met • Efficiency: output produced per unit of resources • Equity: how well water services reach all members of communities • Replicability: essential to expansion of water services and to increase sustainable access to safe drinking water

Conclusion: Important Arguments • Sustainable water management and gender equity o Mutually supporting and interdependent

• Achieve sustainability in the management of scarce water resources o Involve women and men in influential roles at all levels

• Improve access to water and sanitation o Managing water in an integrated and sustainable way

Conclusion: Need for Gender Assessments

• Attempts to improve the situation in Jos or elsewhere should have gender surveys • Water for African Cities Phase II (WAC II) in Jos is a welcome development o Geared for long-term improvement in the lives of the people

• Monitoring, evaluation and review crucial

Questions? Contact Information • Email: [email protected] • Website: www.ruralafrwadp.org • Address: 1 Tetlow Road /4 Assumpta Avenue Opp. First Bank PlC. P.O.Box 6116 Owerri, Nigeria

References Allan, Nicol. 2000. Adopting A Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to Water Projects: Implications for Policy and Practice. London: Overseas Development Institute. Uzomah V.C. and M. Scholz, 2002 Water-availability assessment and corresponding public health implications for a rural area in Nigeria. Journal of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management. 16(4): 296-299. Bassey, B. (2005). Kabong Poor Urban Water Study. Jos Nigeria. Orubu, Christopher O. 2004. Water Resources, Environment and Sustainable Development in Nigeria. Department of Economics, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. Enoch E. Okpara (2004). Post-Rio Realities of Sustainable Development in Nigeria. Harvey, Peter and Bob Reed. 2004. Rural water supply in Africa: building blocks for handpump sustainability’. Water, Engineering and Development Centre, Loughborough University. DFID Guidance Manual on water supply and sanitation programmes. 1998. London: LSHTM/WEDC. Gender and Water Alliance. 2003. The Gender and Water Development Report 2003: Gender Perspectives on Policies in the Water Sector. Delft: Gender and Water Alliance. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Guide to Monitoring Target 11: Improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, Nairobi, May 2003. http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/guo/documents/mdgtarget11.pdf Global Water Partnership. Catalyzing change: A handbook for developing integrated water resources management (IWRM) and water efficiency strategies. 2003. <www.gwpforum.org/gwp/library/Handbook.pdf>