The legacy of Colonialization

The roots of most large contemporary African cities are traceable to the colonial era.

Within Africa, most households with access to "improved sanitation" are dependent upon a septic tank based system. A technique introduced to the continent by colonial powers. Risks associated with this technique increase as population density increases, such as their tendency to fail and pollute groundwater with increased usage. A proven method of sanitation is the usage of a central sewage system. These systems are uncommon in Africa, and those that do exist were developed by colonial governments (Njoh, 2013).

Two theories summarise the potential legacy of colonialism.

·          Colonialism aided the development of Africa.

·          (Dependency theory). Colonialism underdeveloped Africa, with local people not the primary beneficiaries of projects.

Currently, West and Central Africa as a region have the worst access to sanitation. Only 27% (105million) of people have access to improved sanitation facilities (as the table shows)

This area has the lowest sanitation access as colonial authorities decided against permanently settling in this region, and thus no extensive sanitation were developed, unlike other areas of Africa. The theory, suggests implementation of sewage systems were expensive, and the technology to provide sewage networks was European, therefore, systems would only be developed in areas in which Europeans would permanently settle.

Factors shown to affect available sanitation infrastructure;

·         Duration of colonisation. (As facilities take time to develop.)

·          Government share of real GDP per capita at time of independence.

Evidence shows the longer a city was under colonial rule; the more advanced its current sanitation systems. As most many large African cities can trace their existence to colonialism, it could be argued that many urban parts of Africa were left underdeveloped as a result of colonialization.

Thus many of the issues broadly discussed in this blog could be said to have been caused the rapid growth of urban areas that are underdeveloped due to the European colonizer’s short term selfish desires.

Rapid urbanisation and management

Rapid urbanisation puts strain on water management systems; one paper proposes that management should "go small" in periods of rapid expansions as an answer to the larger issues that growth can cause (Drangert et al, 2002). The development of appropriate water systems is caused by a combination of a number of physical, economic, social and demographic factors.

A brief overview of development management options are as follows. Economic control is decentralised from government authorities to local and regional authorities. Management solutions fall under two categories.

·         Own-Key: management and control by local communities/individuals.

·         Turn-Key: Development of management affairs utilised by residents without their involvement.

Turn-key solutions require finance from residents, however, rapid population growth see the breakdown of "social cohesion" and societal norms. Existing infrastructure functions poorly and objectives such as tax collection aren’t met. The solution is to focus on locals areas during periods of rapid growth, without r input from the formal sector. Own-key responses are appropriate and necessary. when rapid population growth has slowed, authorities should then invest to improve water systems and sanitation. The combination of own-key and turn-key solutions are important.

Examples of own-key solutions (Kisumu, Kenya).

·          Exploitation of groundwater aquifers through the digging of wells.

·          Selling the resource at low cost.

·         Dug latrines.

This paper highlights another point. After Kenya gained its independence in 1963, the population of Kisumu increased 5 fold in 20 years, as colonial restrictions were lifted. 81% of current pipe networks were placed there before 1970. What therefore is the legacy of colonialism particularly on water and health within African urban areas?

Role of improving water supply and sanitation

Water and sanitation play a substantial role in preventing child mortality. Esrey et al. performed a study in which it was found that child mortality was reduced by 55% after water supply and sanitation facilities were improved. Diarrhoea was reduced approximately 26%. It was also found that sanitation and hygiene were more influential in reducing diarrhoea than water quality. These results were consistent with Tumwine et al. 2002 findings.

 The results  are both unsurprising and  shocking. It is well known that sanitation affects the spread of waterborne disease, however, the knowledge that simply improving sanitation can reduce child mortality rates in Africa by 55% and yet many areas still lack these basic facilities is disturbing.

Facts and Figures from East Africa

One of the most significant concerns in many developing countries is ill health caused by inadequate water sanitation and supply (Tumwine et al, 2002). Tumwine et al, conducted an analytical study on the socio-demographic characteristics of domestic water use within East Africa. Focusing on the prevalence of diarrhoea in the 1015 surveyed households in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya the following results were recorded for diarrhoeal presence per country from the years 1967-1997.

·         Kenya, increase from 6%-18%

·         Uganda, increase from 16%-21%

·         Tanzania, decline from 11%-18%

The study concluded that main determinants of diarrhoea morbidity were poor hygiene caused by the unsafe disposal of faeces and wastewater, the education level of the household head, and the water source (surface sources or well). The benefits of sections service improvement to diarrhoea are as follows.

-          25% improved water availability.

-          22% improved excreta disposal.

-          16% improved water quality.

Further illustrating the role of sanitation to disease prevalence and highlighting focal areas for management programmes.

Vaccinations

WHO backs an anti-diarrhoea vaccine which focuses on Rotavirus as a cause. Globally this virus annually causes over 450,000 deaths amongst children, (51% of which occurring in Africa) and is responsible for approximately 34% of severe diarrhoea cases on the continent. As of January 1st 2016 over 32 African countries have introduced the vaccine in their national immunisation programmes (PATH).

Twenty-two African countries lack the vaccine. Including countries with large urban populations including Nigeria, who should implement the vaccine alongside infrastructural changes.

 The vaccine should be used as part of a multiple solution system of disease control.

Slums

Poor management of rapid urbanisation is a “health hazard for certain vulnerable populations, and this demographic shift threatens to create a humanitarian disaster” (Patel and Burke, 2009). Slums represent the urbanisation of poverty and are the cause of the inability to manage rapid urbanisation. In many instances large slums lack basic government services, political recognition and are largely ignored by local governments. With examples of this occurring in developing countries such as Kenya where up to 43% of urban residents dwell in slums. In sub-Saharan Africa 71.8% of urban dwellers live in slums, the highest rate globally (Ramin, 2009).

A slum has a number of defining factors. These include the lack of basic services, poor quality housing, overcrowding and insecure tenure. Often there are no toilets, insufficient waste collection and poor quality/non-existent sewer systems. Poor access to sanitation and clean water is the reason for significant share of the ill health witnessed in slums. Even where access to clean water is available it is often unaffordable to the poor. With slum dwellers in East Africa paying 5-7 times more per litre of water than the average North American. An example of the poor urbansanitation is that in 2006, the only sanitation practice for 33% of East Africans was “open defecation” (Ramin, 2009).

Slum facilities are a breeding ground for disease and the over crowdedness presents the risk of epidemics. In Africa both slum and disease control/management is necessary to prevent spread.

Demographic Change

Carter and Parker, 2009, predict the following population trends within Africa between the years 2000-2050.

-          Population growth increases 154% (under the UN variant).

-          Urban population growth increases 320%.

-          Water demand will increase by between 154% and 200%.

-          Population density increase from 22-66 persons per km².

The growth of water demand is the product of multiple influencing factors. The increase in population, and also the increase in per capita water consumption in order to “enhance hygiene and health” (Carter and Parker, 2009), caused by the improving of hygiene behavioural knowledge.

Population density has a direct effect on disease transmission. Nine African cities currently reside in the top 100 ranked by population densities. Lagos for instance has a population density of over 18,000 per km², heaping pressure on water and sanitation services. Slums are a product of rapid urbanisation and see areas with the highest population densities and poorest sanitation and water quality. WHO claims that 50% of Nigeria’s population lacks access to clean water and proper sanitation. Poor management schemes of an increasing population leads to occurrences such as the 2009 cholera outbreak within Nigeria that infected 40,000 killing 1500. 

In order to reduce waterborne disease, efforts to increase sanitation and water quality should be focused on these poorly facilitated areas of high density.