An Analysis of the Achievement of the Water and Sanitation Target of the Millennium Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Since 2000, countries around the world have worked towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). This major research paper will analyze the achievement or non-achievement of MDG Target 7.C of “halving, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation” (United Nations, 2015) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in general and two case study countries in particular – Nigeria and South Africa. The achievement of target 7.C will play a crucial role in poverty alleviation. Water and sanitation are key elements to several aspects of human health, development and well-being. For example, access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation can help reduce the incidence of diseases resulting from the consumption of contaminated water. In SSA and the case study countries, while there have been progress in meeting the access to safe drinking water target, the record on meeting the sanitation target is highly unsatisfactory. There are currently 32 percent of the population living without access to safe drinking water and 70 percent of the population who do not have access to basic sanitation in the SSA. The evidence suggests that while there are no physical barriers to meeting the MDG 7.C targets in SSA, the region will not be able to attain the targets primarily due to human induced causes and continuing issues of poor governance, weak legislation, and lack of financial and human resources.