Pathway to equity in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in Africa: Ethical Implications

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Clean drinking water and sanitation have been recognized as essential to the realization of all human rights by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, committed countries to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030.The 2018 Africa Sustainable Development Report finds that access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation remains very low in Africa by global standards, there are wide disparities between and within countries, and 43% of Africa’s rural population has access to basic drinking water services compared to 82% of the urban population. What kinds of ethical reasoning need to be considered in the pathway to equity in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in Africa within the context of growing population, industrialization, rapid urbanization and emerging challenges such as climate change, droughts, floods and mismanagement of waste water? What challenges and opportunities do the COVID-19 pandemic portends to the progress of availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation in Africa? How do we achieve the most good for the most people at the least cost? This talk will address these and the ethical dimensions of studies discussed in this session. METHODS: RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: KEYWORDS: Ethics, water and sanitation, Africa