Water and sanitation in Eastern and Southern Africa: a regional perspective

The countries located in Eastern and Southern Africa are immensely diverse in geography, culture and standards of living. Despite these diversities, many countries share the prospect of likely not reaching the MDG target for water and/or sanitation, set for 2015. This paper analyses available data on WASH, such as time-to-collect, gender, hand-washing and water quality. Sub-national disparities across regions and between the urban and rural population will be examined. Some reflections on UNICEF’s country-level initiatives in urban areas will also be given. The analysis is considered useful for practitioners, researchers and policy makers whom are active in the WASH sector.