NALOLO, CITIZENS AND THE RIGHT TO WATER

Water is critical for sustainable development and the eradication of poverty, hunger and inequality.

Investment and commitment in clean and adequate drinking water and sanitation can yield high returns, as improved access to water and sanitation has many health benefits. In addition, easy access to water saves time. This translates into higher productivity and greater school attendance, as well as other tangible benefits such as convenience and well-being, which can also have an economic impact. 

In Kataba area of Nalolo district, the provision of clean, adequate and safe water has been a challenge for many years. The education system, health facilities and other social services have been affected by the lack of water. Efforts in the past to drill water facilities were not sustainable and citizens had no knowledge on how to demand these services from duty bearers.

In 2016, ActionAid Zambia initiated a local rights programme that started training citizens on their rights and how to demand for services from their duty bearers. This initiative has yielded favourable results as citizens are more aware of their rights. In addition, citizens are able to conduct advocacy and lobbying activities to engage their duty bearers to demand for water.

With the knowledge on their rights, advocacy and lobbying have caused citizens in Kataba to engage the local authority that has drilled a modern borehole and matching hand pump that provides clean water to the health facility in the area.

In the past, patients and their caregivers had to walk almost a kilomere to fetch water from a contaminated river close-by. In addition to the water source provided by the council, AAZ has installed another hand pump at the school adjacent to the clinic where pupils access clean and safe water.

The provision of these sources of water has improved the socio-economic life of people in Kataba. Pupils are able spend more time in class learning unlike in the past when the children would spend more time fetching contaminated water in infested streams.
The following photographs represent the resultant effect of the awareness raising programme in which citizens are now able to engage their leaders to demand social service delivery and other human entitlements.