NEWS in brief
Egypt
Egypt steps up desalination plant building programm
The new plants
announced
by
major
general
Kamel al-Wazir,
head of EAAF,
comprise
three
150,000
m3/d
capacity facilities
Egypt is building up its desalination capacity on
in Al Alamain,
the Mediterranean cost
Al-Jamila,
and
East Port Said, involving “large French and German
companies”. Al-Wazir also re-confirmed delivery of a
164,000 m3/d plant in northwest Gulf of Suez, in Ain
Sokhna, which is expected to complete in 2018.
Further, governor of Matruh, Alaa Abu Zeid, approved
plans for a new seawater desalination facility in Najila. The
project is for an initial 5,000 m3/d, with the potential to
double capacity, and has a budget of EGP 150 million
($8.3 million). Additionally, a pipeline of 6.5 kilometres
to convey desalinated water to the region’s main drinking
water network will be built at a cost of EGP 14 million.
Source: desalination.biz
Kenya
Kenya cholera outbreak hits dozens at health
conference
Nearly 50 people have contracted cholera while attending
a health conference in Kenya’s capital.
The infected delegates were among hundreds who had
gathered for the four day forum organized by the Ministry
of Health at a Nairobi hotel on Tuesday the 20th June.
They have been isolated in a city hospital, but health
officials say the number of people infected may rise.
It is unclear how they caught the disease, which has led to
five deaths in the past month.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion
of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio
cholera.
Most of those
infected will
have no or mild
symptoms but,
in severe cases,
the
disease
can kill within
hours if left
It is not clear what triggered the latest cholera
untreated.
outbreak
Around Africa
In Yemen, a large cholera outbreak is fast approaching
300,000 cases, according to UN humanitarian chief Stephen
O’Brien. He described it as a “man-made catastrophe”
caused by both sides of the country’s ongoing civil war.
Malawi
Malawi: Integrated Approach Increased Funding for
Water in Malawi
GWP
has
provided
long-
term backing to
the adoption of
an
Integrated
Water Resources
Management (IWRM) approach to water management in
Malawi.
This support included the development and implementation
of a national IWRM and Water Efficiency (WE) plan to
guide Malawi towards increased water security.
Validated in 2008, the process contributed to Malawi’s
commitment to IWRM within its national planning and
investment frameworks, most notably the Malawi Growth
and Development Strategy (MGDS) and the National
Water Development Programme II (NWDP II).
As a result, political will and awareness were mobilised
among key actors, including the Office of the President,
Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Economic Planning
resulting in a 64 percent budget increase to the water
sector in 2005/06.
Background
With one of the lowest per capita water availability in
Africa, Malawi faces a continuous threat of water scarcity.
As with other countries in the region, a rapidly growing
population intensifies the problem by increasing pressure
on resources, while poor agricultural practices, inadequate
waste management, and forest degradation all reduce water
quality. Climate change, expected to result in more rainfall
variability across the region, further increases the risk of
water shortages.
Aware of the negative impact that water stress has on the
achievement of national development goals, in the early
2000s the Government of Malawi sought to mainstream
more sustainable water management into the national
development agenda.
The commitment to IWRM planning was formally reflected
in the revised National Water Policy of 2005 which in turn
informed the preparation of the MGDS 2006-2011 – the
medium-term national planning framework that forms the
basis of national budget allocations.
In parallel to, and in coordination with, the national
Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • July - August 2017
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