Extreme poverty in Nigeria despite of huge national wealth.

Lisa Ling, Special to CNN reports:

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (CNN) — Trash litters its cities. Electricity is sporadic at best. There is no clean water. Medical and educational services are limited. Basic infrastructure is severely lacking.

Nigeria’s corruption agency says between $300 billion to $400 billion in oil profits has been stolen or squandered.

These are not conditions that should plague one of the richest oil states in the world. Hundreds of billions of dollars has been made from the Niger Delta’s oil reserves and many people have gotten very rich. Conversely, the average Nigerian has suffered as a result of the country’s oil prosperity. The United States Agency for International Development says more than 70 percent of the country lives on less than a dollar a day — the population is among the 20 poorest in the world.

Oil companies are only part of the equation. The other is the Nigerian government. Transparency International, a global organization intent on stamping out corruption, has consistently rated Nigeria’s government one of the most corrupt in the world. more…

No clean water. That’s a sign of government dysfunction. In this case it’s corruption.

Nigeria could be one of the wealthiest countries in the world. There is plenty of money to provide clean water and sanitation. It is not a question of affording clean water. They have the means. Or some do.

The article goes on the describe an interview Ling was able to get with members of the , or MEND. The group wants to rid Nigeria of oil companies and “foreign influences.”

I can’t judge if that’s a beneficial goal. But it is basic political science. The government is not meeting the needs of the people and the people seek change.

We may not like to admit it, but the best way to get clean water to people is to change governments. Either change their thinking or change who governs.

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Villagers in Luputa carry pipe for a water project, photo via LDS Philanthropies

LDS Philanthropies Humanitarian Services Clean Water Fund has a unique, and I think superior, approach to providing access to clean water.

Two features I like:

• Local communities take part in planning, building and maintaining the water projects.
• No administrative costs, no fund raising costs- all donated money goes to build water projects.

From the Clean Water Fund webpage:

Working with local community leaders, Humanitarian Services provides access to clean water with wells and other water systems where no such service is available.

Volunteers from the village provide labor to install and maintain the wells to ensure their long-term operation. Local contractors are employed, and a local site supervisor is appointed to ensure the work is performed as agreed. Each village establishes a water committee to oversee the maintenance of the facilities.

Involving the community helps local people feel an ownership of the project, an important cultural consideration in the long-term use and proper maintenance of the water supply.

Stretching Contribution Dollars

The death toll in Zimbabwe’s recent cholera outbreak is over 500. The water borne disease has claimed victims throughout the country. Nearly 11,000 people have been infected in the past few weeks. Remote areas report a fatality rate up to 30%. Neighboring Botswana and South Africa are poised to be next.

Cholera has been well under control in this region of Africa for several decades. In the last 10 years, cholera returned with an annual outbreak in the country. Now, as the southern hemisphere nears summer, the outbreak could claim more than in 1992 when 2,000 died.

Zimbabwe was once the bread basket of Africa. Food was plentiful, the economy was thriving and diseases like cholera were not a problem. Good sanitation and clean water wipe out cholera.

So what happened? The country’s sanitation system is collapsing. The water utility in the capital, Harare, has run out of chemicals to treat the water. Throughout the country, electricity is scarce. People can’t boil the water so they just use it.

All this can be traced back to Robert Mugabe. He intends to be president no matter what anybody says. He’s done everything he can to keep power. Lately, he has refused to use that power for the good of the people. His dictatorship has brought famine, debt and disease.

Unfortunately, Robert Mugabe has provided a clear example of the relationship between good government and clean water. Zimbabwe, currently, has neither.

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Image via Wikipedia

Providing for the basic need of clean water is a primary responsibility of any government. I applaud Dr. Derek Sikua, a leader of a developing nation who understands good government.

New Zealand’s Scoop Independent News posted this:

Friday, 28 November 2008, 10:39 am
Press Release: Solomon Islands Government

PM Says Gov’t Committed To Provide Greater Access To Clean Water And Sanitation

Prime Minister Dr Derek Sikua today has reiterated his government’s commitment to provide greater access to clean water supply and sanitation to rural communities in the country.

Dr Sikua made the statement in parliament in response to a concern raised by Opposition Leader Manasseh Sogavare on government’s action on water and sanitation.

He said the Coalition for National Unity and Rural Advancement (CNURA) Government is still committed to its policy priority area and that is people have proper water supply and sanitation.

“The Government would like to make sure that as many villages in Solomon Islands have access to cleaning drinking water and proper sanitation”.

“The Government is working around the clock to make sure the project is implemented,” Dr Sikua explained.

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From virginmoneyus:

Thanks - as essential to the holidays as the passing of the cranberry sauce. So go ahead. Give thanks. Upload a picture and a caption and say what you’re thankful for. Your favorite Sunday afternoon loungewear? That friend who helped you through it all? Sure. Then we’ll donate $1 to Give a Drop, a life saving effort by Virgin Unite and Project Clean Water. Pass the thanks, please.

Give thanks and give clean water. Then give thanks that you have clean water. You provide the pic and the gratitude. Virgin provides the donation. Not a bad deal.

Be sure to vote for your favorite way to eat cranberry sauce while you’re there. And check out the slide show.

The pics take a couple days to be approved. So upload today and be ready for Thanksgiving.

Post pics here.

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You pedal, it pumps water from the storage tank in the back through a filter to the container in the front.  It keeps the purified water in a closed container, maintaining its integrity and making it easy to use.  The added benefit is it makes transporting water much quicker and easier since many third world residents must transport water up to three miles or more just to get it from source to home.

I’m not quite sure about this one. I have questions about the practicality of getting these in the hands of the people who could use them most.

But it is yet another example of the ingenuity available to work on the challenge of clean water. We don’t lack know how. There are plenty of answers and possibilities. The problem remains the will of the people in control of these countries.

Find more info here on the Aquaduct blog

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Image by kartooner via Flickr

If you live in North America, the Caribbean or certain European countries you may have seen Fiji Water. Did you know native Fijians go without clean water?

I’ve been incredulous about the growth in popularity whole bottled water thing. I can see benefits, especially when it comes to emergency preparedness. But Fiji Water seems to take the whole thing beyond incredulity.

Short Background: They drill deep into the Artesian aquifer in the remote south Pacific island nation of Fiji. They import plastic bottles from China, bottle the water and sell it in the US and other countries with people who have more money than brains. The company has been criticized by others about the whole carbon foot print involved in production. The company has taken steps to go green.

My beef has to do with the water. In looking for examples of good clean water programs, I came accross the Humanitarian Services division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Over the last 5 years, they’ve done clean water projects in 34 countries. More about that later.

Here’s where the two stories converge. One of those projects is in Fiji. The village Navunimono gets it’s water from a river polluted by cattle grazing, runoff and other stuff. Humanitarian Services helped the village construct 3 water tanks and now they have clean water.

Jo Vitinavulagi fills the first bucket from the new water tanks.

I’m happy they have clean water now but the story points out problems around the world. What did the military dictator of Fiji do about the water problem? What about the American company taking clean water from another part of the island chain?

Here’s an example of clean water being easily available and technologically possible. But those with political and economic power chose to do nothing. The story is repeated over and over. I’ll let you know when I see more.