RWSSI African Weekly Digest 16/05/2019

The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI) is an Africa-wide initiative hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Please find below a selection of water-related news stories from across African media outlets that you might find of interest. RWSSI values your contributions, so please send them similar stories you deem would interest the African Water and Sanitation Community. Please scroll down to the bottom of this email if you want to submit a story or sign up for the mailing list to get the African Weekly Digest directly in your inbox.

African cities are running out of water, and the continent needs $66 billion to avoid a crisis of disease and dehydration.
African cities are experiencing devastating water shortages as their populations continue to grow. These water shortages have led to sanitation problems, which can contribute to the incidence of diseases like cholera and typhoid fever. The African Development Bank estimated last year that it would require as much as $66 billion to provide universal access to water and sanitation across Africa. Read more

Kenya: Nema Shuts Down 25 Factories in Nairobi River Cleanup
The National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) will close down 25 factories accused of discharging effluent into Nairobi River. The authority in a joint effort with the Nairobi County said three factories would be shut down on Wednesday. Giloil Industries was the first to be shutdown leaving workers at the cooking oil maker stranded. Read more

South Africa: Every Drop Counts
While the country has enough water to sustain the fast approaching dry winter season, South Africans have been urged to use water sparingly. Currently the country is sitting with 23 809.2 cubic meters of water in storage, according to a weekly report of the Department of Water and Sanitation.  Read more

Liberia: 400K Nimbaians to Get Safe Drinking Water
The Last Well, the Christian charity with a vision of ensuring that every community in Liberia, has access to safe drinking water, has set its sights on its biggest project yet -- the entire Nimba County -- with a target of 253 new wells, 287 well rehabilitations. According to the 2011 Liberia Waterpoint Atlas, Nimba has only 17% access to limited water supply services.  Read more

Smart tech the new tool for African farmers
How do you manage the trick of feeding school children better and at a lower cost? How do you count the number of mangoes on your farm so that you get a fair price? And what’s a clever-but-cheap way for a farmer to cut down his irrigation bill? Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa may have the image of relentless toil and low productivity, but experts say new tech is changing the picture. Read more

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