Web-series "ACTIVATE" from National Geographic x Global Citizen raise safe water issues in Nigeria - part one : the campaign.

I have just come across the National Geographic and Global Citizen collaboration, a web-series about equity issues in today's world. One of the episodes of these series is called "Clean Water" and aired a month ago. This is actually more of a hour-long documentary, that is part of a Global Citizen campaign for awareness and funding raise, and a way to urge politicians to do something about the water situation in Africa. 

Context and description of the project

The episode focuses on the situation in Nigeria, where Global Citizen has started a campaign in 2016 to end water and sanitation issues. Through the episode, we follow the American actress Uzo Aduba, meeting local people and, on their behalf, asking politicians to act during the World Water Day conference held in Lagos last March by the UN. I must say, I was worried that this documentary would only use the actress's image to catch attention (and it's probably one of the aims, to make people see the episode and get familiar with the problem), but I learned that her parents were born and used to live in Nigeria, so she was really aware of the issues and engaged in what GC was trying to achieve. And I think that once in a while, it's a good thing to have somebody who knows what they're talking about in this type of campaigns.

(Uzo Aduba with a farmer in Gwako)

But let's move to the heart of this documentary. I, of course, strongly recommend you to watch it because it gives very concrete examples of issues people in Nigeria's rural areas face that I will not detail here, because the aim of this article is to show the effectiveness of such a mediated campaign from an NGO. 

The objectives of Global Citizen with this campaign in Nigeria is to make every 36 Nigeria State commit 14 to 21 million USD to ensure safe water, sanitation, and end open defecation by 2025. The campaign started in 2016 and so far, only the Cross River State committed 3 million USD a year to achieve these objectives. But GC wants more : they want to see real policies and infrastructures in rural areas, they want to see States doing public commitments, to make sure these promises aren't just words.

The study : what are the problems and how are they manifesting themselves ?

To show the different issues with water in Nigeria, the documentary chose to focus on 3 villages in Nigeria and to compare with one in Ghana.

The first place is the Gwako village, just outside of Abuja. There, mostly everyone relies on the river that flows outside of the village because they can't afford the clean water the government is selling. The problem is, the river is contaminated by human (and sometimes animal) waste. Drinking it provokes blood in urine and child deaths by diarrhea in a matter of days because of the dehydratation the sickness generates.

(The contaminated river, however main water supply in Gwako)

In Gwako, only a local NGO (Society for family health) acts to heal the people who get infected by the water. Neither the federal or state governments seem to hear the inhabitants. As a farmer told Aduba when asked about what she could do : "please carry our cry with you". 

Quite the same issue is observed in the second village, named Kpanyi-Kpanyi. The main water resource is also the river and some people get a sickness called schistosomiasis (a parasite lodging in the vein that supplies the urinary system) from it. The river being used for every activity (bathing, washing the clothes, drinking, etc), favored the propagation of such sicknesses, but also others like cholera, hepatitis, or polio. Experts point out that such conditions are both preventable and treatable, but the absence of hospitals turn them into deadly threats. 

(The river-water-supply in Kpanyi-Kpanyi, with kids playing in the water they also drink)

But the other point of this example is that it shows how little other people know about the contamination of the water : a mother is here explaining that they moved in the village without knowing it, and they learned about it only when her children got sick. My question is therefore : even if the inhabitants ignore what is going on, how can the State do something about it ? How can they warn them about it ?

In the last village, Tudun Wada, the problem is more about sanitation, because a big part of the village is defecated in the open because of the lack of toilets. This issue is something that affects 120 million people in Nigeria. 

(An inhabitant in front of the defecating field)

The solutions : how effective are they in the short and long term ?

From what I observe, and regarding the aim of the documentary, it looks like everybody is waiting for a State action (= top-down action). But actually, the episode also put the emphasis on local initiatives (= bottom-up action) and private corporations actions (= market approach).

In the case of Gwako's situation, a solution is introduced at the end of the report. The P&G program for clean water, which is a non-profit program, distributed small packets full of powder, that purifies water in 30 minutes. A survey has been led in Ghana, in the village of Zabzugu, and has met a big success. Once, the girls had to fetch water in early mornings and were late at school; the river was also provoking sicknesses. With this "technology", their sanitation is better, girls can get a better education and more economic opportunities for their families.

 

(The water from the river.)

Waste that was present in the water.)

(Water after filtration by the P&G products.)

But there are also some bottom-up actions initiated, for instance in Tudun Wada. Tired of not being heard by the State, and also tired by the hygiene of the village, a local organization named IDEE that aims to create a sustainable society free of poverty for the village launched the program CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation), and are building toilets, educating about hand-washing, and getting inhabitants involved in the cleaning of the open-toilet field.

(Demonstration of an hand-washing initiative in a school)

Both of these solutions are great. But they aren't sustainable. In Gwako's case, packets were just samples and probably can't be produced in needed amounts for every village in Nigeria. And in Tudun Wada, even if these initiatives are inspiring, it will not replace the State's action in building sanitation infrastructures because the village doesn't have resource to build proper toilets.

In my next post, I will finish to recap the episode, especially on the results of the campaign during the World Water Day talks.