Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH)
Providing clean water, basic sanitation and good hygiene practice essential for the survival and development of every child
Challenges
Despite good economic progress, Namibia still face challenges, especially related to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Only about half of Namibians have access to basic drinking water services and nearly two-thirds of Namibian children live in areas of high or extremely high-water vulnerability.
The country has the sixth-highest rates of open defecation in the world, with 59 per cent of the population not having access to basic and safe sanitation services - a toilet with water.
High levels of open defecation (which is at 47 per cent) and poor hygiene practices pose the greatest public health risk.
The impacts of open defecation and poor hygiene practices are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change (drought and floods) and rapid rural urban migration. The country is experiencing the frequency and severity of droughts, making water resources more scares. If water grows scarcer, access to comprehensive WASH services amongst Namibians is likely to reduce, too —that is, if there are no immediate interventions.
About 11 per cent of schools there do not have access to sanitation facilities, while 6 per cent do not have water facilities (EMIS 2021)
Solutions
UNICEF works with government and development partners to assist families in treating and safely storing water, washing hands with soap, and eliminating the practice of open defecation, at schools and health facilities.
The periodic exercises that are being carried out to generate evidence on the cost of inaction, will demonstrate the importance of a holistic and a cross sectoral approach to climate change, and environmental degradation and the threat this will pose to children’s and young people’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation.