Communities lead way for better for health in Nigeria
7 Oct 2011
Water points owned and managed by communities are more sustainable
Concern Universal’s community-managed water and sanitation approach, that relies heavily on supporting community-led water committees, has been acknowledged by UNICEF and the EC as a sustainable model for improving access to water in rural communities in Nigeria.
Our model has been developed with many years of experience in helping communities lead their own development, and ensures community ownership of water facilities. This is in contrast to the old ‘construct and manage’ approach, where facilities are put in place by outside agencies, leaving the communities feeling powerless to act if a problem arises.
Concern Universal works with people in communities in the Cross River State of Nigeria, where often women and young children bear the burden of walking many miles for water each day. Recent studies have found that around 40% of water points installed by outside agencies are no longer working - leaving the community to revert to unsafe water sources. So we work with communities to establish volunteer 'community water and sanitation committees' to take ownership of health and hygiene issues in their village. By providing training in borehole maintenance and supporting the communities to set up small income-generating activities to cover maintenance needs, we have been successful in securing the future sustainability of the water points that we provide.
The existence of the water committees in the communities has also enhanced the management of sanitation facilities and spurred improved hygiene practices.
