Feature article

World Water Day | by Joanna McLeod

Feature article No. 3 | 22 March 2007

Girl tests the new Tongan water supply.

March 22 is the World Day for Water. "Coping with water scarcity" is the theme, under the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Living in a country renown for its pristine rivers, lakes and mountains, not to mention high average rain fall, means that scarcity of water is not something New Zealanders consider on a daily basis. But for many people this is not the case.

Worldwide more than one billon people live in areas where water is in short supply and more than one-third of the world's population has no access to sanitation facilities because of this. And it's predicted to get worse.

Imagine turning on the tap and nothing comes out. Imagine having to rely on carrying buckets of water from the tank to your home. For many villages in Tonga this is a reality. And to make matters worse, the lack of clean running water increases the risk of water-borne diseases like typhoid. It's no surprise to hear that NZAID has been committed to providing clean water to many of the villages.

Imagine turning on the tap and nothing comes out. Imagine having to rely on carrying buckets of water from the tank to your home. For many villages in Tonga this is a reality.

Village water supply projects have seen the removal of rusty, leaking pipes and the renewal of pipe networks, pumping systems and reservoirs. They have also involved upskilling and training of rural water inspection staff in the Ministry of Health and members of village water committees, and the provision of training materials and guidelines – all of which contributes to the improved health and well-being of the community.8 May, 2007aland government support for a water reticulation project. Providing a new tank and replacing leaking seventy year-old pipes means that every household in the village now has clean water coming directly to their homes. The difference is incredible. Before the project was completed, people would have to carry water in a bucket from the cement tank to their homes to wash. Now they can have a shower 24 hours a day. People can also install flush toilets and showers and most importantly the water is clean - reducing risks of typhoid and other diseases and giving people the opportunity to leave behind a life of subsistence.

In the town of Lapaha, NZAID has funded the installation of a 200,000 litre wooden tank to provide the community with clean water. The next stage of the project is to install household rainwater tanks to supplement the main tank. The water committee has collected $300 Tongan Paanga from each household to contribute towards the costs and the community is now waiting on the Tongan Ministry of Health to release the funds so that construction can get underway. A similar approach to the provision of clean water supplies has also been developed on the island of 'Eua.

Meanwhile in Lao PDR, UNICEF New Zealand and NZAID are supporting a Water and Sanitation Project to provide safe water, sanitation facilities and improved hygiene practices. In Laos only 30 percent of primary schools have access to clean water and toilets causing serious health problems for children. Childhood diarrhoea is the second highest cause of child mortality in the country. In parts of the country, girls don't get to primary school as chores such as collecting water from distant supplies force them to work instead of attend school.

Without fresh clean water, improvements to health, education and livelihoods are almost impossible. Funding clean water projects is one way NZAID is able to build foundations of future development.

Contact: communications@nzaid.govt.nz