Sewerage

Sixty-two per cent of Africans do not have access to an improved sanitation facility -- a proper toilet -- which separates human waste from human contact, according to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.

South Africa has almost met the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people who do not have proper sanitation, but there are still challenges to overcome, says Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks.

The tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho has one of the most sustainable and innovative approaches to sanitation in the Southern African African Development Community (SADC).

Improving to basic facilities such as water, sanitation and housing is a key aspect of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). Although most local authorities can identify the most undeserves areas, estimates of the extent of the need are likely to provide the most effective motivation for targeting investment and planning interventions. To this end, a survey of access to basic facilities, including housing, water supply and sanitation, was carried out by the Health Department of the Cape Metropolitan Council (CMC) for the Greater Cape Town area, excluding the city centre and other areas not serviced by the CMC, between 1994 and 1995. Population estimates for the greater metropolitan area were also obtained.