Recent Policy Experience in moving from community-based water quality surveillance to community-wide WSPs in Nigeria

• Engr. Bishnu Timilsina, WASH Specialist, UNICEF Nigeria

• Dr. Obioha A. Agada, Director Water Quality Control & Sanitation, FMWR Date?/small picture

Supported by: FGN/EU/UNICEF WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION SECTOR REFORM PROGRAMME (WSSSRP)

WSS Context in Nigeria

JMP: With well over 151 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa. Of these, an estimated 103 million Nigerian still lack basic sanitation facilities and 63 million do not have access to an improved source of water.

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EU-WSSSRP aim: improve water governance

The EU-WSSSRP (Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme) aims to improve water governance at the Federal, State and LGAs levels by mainstreaming improved and sustainable water supply and sanitation services delivery to both urban and rural areas within the country, through:

•Policy review and implementation;

•Assessment of roles and mandates;

•Review of human resources;

•Development of guidelines for strategic planning;

•Improved WASH Services delivery;

•Improved Budgeting and expenditure procedures.

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EU-WSSSRP Programme Scope

The programme covers:

• 6 States of the Federation (Cross River, Anambra, Osun, Jigawa,

Yobe and Kano)

• 25% of the LGAs in each State

• 60 Urban and Small towns

• 1000 Rural Communities

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The programme has several linkage to safe water quality:

1.increase access to safe water supply (Result 4.e)

2.establish community-based sustainable water supply (Result 4.e)

3.strengthen the capacity of Rural WSS institutions (Result 4.c)

4.promote State-wide strategies for community mobilization and hygiene promotion (Result 4.d)

5.put in place Monitoring and Evaluation Systems (Result 4.b)

EU-UNICEF-WSSSRPExpected Programme Results relating to Water Quality

Water Quality Issues in Nigeria

• Bacteriological contamination• Hazardous chemical contaminants :

• natural: fluoride, cyanide; • industry man-made: lead (related to gold mining), arsenic (mining);

• Iron is a common nuisance in nearly all groundwater sources• Turbidity during rainy season• Salinity in the coastal areas

Water Quality in Nigeria: regulatory framework

Earlier regulatory framework based on : • EPA 1999 and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) 2003:

standards not widely used• WHO guidelines 2004

In 2004-2005 a rapid assessment of drinking-water quality was undertaken in the Federal Republic of Nigeria (published by WHO-UNICEF in 2010):

Outcome: delivery of bacteriologically safe water achieved at 73% of all water points,

ranging from 51% for protected dug wells to 86% for borehole & tubewells)

Water Quality in Nigeria: regulatory framework

• The Rapid Assessment exercise stimulated the National Council on Water Resources to urge the Federal Ministry of Health, with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria to develop Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NIS 554)

• A Technical Committee with broad representation of Health, Water Resources, SON, State water providers, Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Protection Council, Universities, and International Sector Support Agencies drafted the Standard

• Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality was published in 2007

• The Challenge: promote knowledge of and compliance with NIS 554

Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality 2007

• 5.5.1 All water service providers (including State Water Agencies) and community water committees shall develop a Water Safety Plan …

• 5.5.2 ….a programme of upgrading (which may include capital investment or training) shall be initiated to ensure that the drinking- water supply meets the targets.

• 5.5.3 State Ministry of Water Resources shall support water services providers…… in establishing and implementing Water Safety Plans.

• 5.5.4 Water Safety Plans shall be validated by the Drinking Water Quality Surveillance agency and enforced by inspector for DWQ Surveillance.

• 5.5.5 For community water committees managing on-site drinking water facilities, the development of Water Safety Plans shall be done in collaboration with Local Government Authorities (LGAs) and committees shall conduct regular sanitary inspections of the water facilities.

Water Quality Standardspromoting knowledge and compliance

• Government of Nigeria initiated Community Based Water Quality Surveillance and Household Water Handling, Testing and Treatments (2009)

Coregroup led by Federal Ministry of Water Resources: Department for Water Quality Control & Sanitation

Includes: • Concept note/basic framework:• Institutionalize WQ surveillance • Raise awareness and ownership of community on WQ • Train on WQ monitoring and HHWT

The Basic Framework on Community Based Water Quality Surveillance, and Household Water Handling,

Testing and Treatments, May 2009, • institutionalize surveillance systems for monitoring drinking water

quality• ensure reliable and useful data collection on drinking water quality

and increase the sense of ownership and alertness of the people on water quality issues and waterborne diseases.

• Monitor and carry out surveillance of all drinking water sources• Institutionalize community participation and involvement for water

quality monitoring• build capacity of the Communities to own field test kits and take full

Operation &Monitoring (O&M) responsibility for water quality monitoring of drinking water sources in their areas.

• train and empower households on basic water treatment methods• apply intervention on safe water handling and good storage

practices at household level

A simple filter using indigenous materials made by the participants of a ToT programme on water quality and household water treatment in Awka, Anambra State (May 2009)

Community Based Water Quality Surveillance, and HHWT

• Pilots on-going in 6 states: Niger, Oyo, Ebonyi, Cross-River, Taraba and ZamfaraSHAWN states to be included: Bauchi, Benue, Jigawa and Katsina

• Capacity building at various levels• Risk assessment through sanitary surveys

Progress made so far

• Concept Note prepared by the National Coregroup members and

• shared and discussed with Stakeholders in four regional workshops held at Kano, Sokoto, Enugu and Lagos Concept Note revised

• National Core-group on Water Quality formed• Zamfara, Niger, Taraba, Ebonyi, Cross River

and Oyo States emerged as pilot States

Friday, April 21, 2023

Progress made so far

• Advocacy visits made to the six pilot States• Pilot Local Governments and Communities selected by

the States• Sensitization workshop held for Local Government

Chairmen of the pilot Local Governments• Officers of the States and Local Governments trained

as trainers• Each Local Government on pilot issued with Wagtech

Porta-kits with incubator and various numbers of H2S vials and water treatment chemicals (Pur and aquatabs)

• Each pilot State issued with Wagtech Porta-lab

Friday, April 21, 2023

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Giving further boost to water quality management through:

1.Strategy for introduction of WSP including

2.National Action points

3.Draft State Action Plans

4.Selection of Pilot LGAs/communities for WSP

5.Recommendations for support by sector support agencies

Federal Ministry of Water Resources& EU-UNICEF-WSSSRP

Water Quality in Nigeria: capacity building

Regulatory Framework/ State & LGA

Regulatory Framework/ State & LGA

Community -based

Surveillance

Community -based

Surveillance

Community-based Water Safety Plan

Approach

M&E, consultation on corrective action

WSP outcomes:•Risk Assessment •Priority setting•Action Planleading to:

• improving WQ and • better functioning of water supply assets • greater sustainability

Introduction (Chapter 1)

The guideline requirements (Chapter 2)

Health-based targets (Chapter 3)

Public health context and health outcome

Water Safety Plans (Chapter 4)

System assessment

Monitoring Management and communication

Surveillance (Chapter 5)

FRAMEWORK FOR SAFE DRINKING WATER SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Microbial aspects (Chapters 7 and 11)

Chemical aspects (Chapters 8 and 12)

Radiological aspects (Chapter 9)

Acceptability aspects (Chapter 10)Application of the Guidelines in specific circumstances

(Chapter 6)

Large buildings, Emergencies and disasters, Travellers, Desalination systems, Packaged drinking water, Food production, Planes and ships

WHO Guidelines

Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality 2007

Legislation in Place

Necessary levers for WSP Scale-up

• WSP is explicit in regulations or high level policy commitment

• Successful WSP implementation (pilots)• Evidence on cost-effectiveness and impacts• Networks of committed partners • Learning institutions that can serve as

training centres (e.g. universities)• Harmonized cooperation among key sector

stakeholders, development agencies and multilaterals, professional bodies

Near future actions • Holding a national conference on drinking water quality • Further generating High-Level Advocacy and

Commitment• Establishing WSP task forces at Federal and State level• Supporting policy development/review of legislation at

all administrative levels• Capacity Building at State, LGA, WASH

Committee/Water Consumer/Service Provider and Community level

• Advocacy, Documentation, Learning and Knowledge Management, Evaluation

• Support to continued development of national water laboratories and local water quality testing capacities

Thank you for your attention