Access to water and sanitation facilities remains a luxury for thousands of people in the Global South. Across Africa the rates of water and sanitation remain highly alarming. Data from WHO/UNICEF’s Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) shows that around 801 million people in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have safe drinking water. The common proliferation of waste that dots the streets in many African cities is expressive of the failure of waste sector governance and the failure of African States to provide a quality living environment to their people.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) water poverty is glaring despite our country’s abundant water reserves. The rate of access to drinking water is around 52% (JMP, 2017). Faced with no water at home or exorbitant prices, some people have to walk long distances to fetch water of dubious quality from rivers or boreholes; others have to dump waste in the streets, gutters, ravines, or under bridges. This results in a proliferation of waterborne diseases – such as cholera, typhoid fever, schistosomiasis – across the country. “If we had thought about water and sanitation facilities before building the hospital, we could have reduced the prevalence of many diseases and improved the quality of our life.” These were the words expressed by Bolenge, a community leader in DRC, saddened to see people suffering from verminosis and diarrhoea.
The viability and sustainability of water and sanitation programs funded and carried out by international aid and development organisations remains questionable. Often, water and sanitation installations deteriorate when funding for these programs ends. This is often attributable to inadequate maintenance and insufficient monitoring. Water and sanitation programs that are less sensitive to community participation are not likely to promote strong ownership of facilities.
The United Nations recognises access to safe, affordable drinking water and reliable sanitation as fundamental human rights. These services are essential to maintaining healthy livelihoods and preserving people’s dignity. Moreover, the Article 48 of the Constitution of DRC (2006) explicitly recognises the human right to water.
It is in this context that Green Ark Committee conducted a community campaign for water rights, climate justice, and an end to freshwater contamination in Eastern DRC from November 2023 to March 2024. The campaign aimed to influence state authorities and officials (mayors, governors, the water and environmental ministry, MPs) during and after DRC’s general elections. Green Ark Committee lobbied political candidates to take effective measures and commitments to extend water services within marginalised areas in the city of Uvira and to stop the contamination of Mulongwe, Kalimabenge, Kamvinvira, Ruzozi, Kahwizi rivers and Lake Tanganyika.
Human rights defenders protesting freshwater contamination in Uvira.
The campaign translated these aims into practice by organising community meetings, peaceful protests and a petition to state authorities for the realisation of water rights. Over one-hundred climate activists and human rights defenders signed the petition and on 30 November Green Ark Committee organised a march for water to present the petition to Uvira City Hall.
Civil society protesters on their way to present Green Ark Committee’s petition to Uvira City Hall.
An exciting outcome of these actions was the popularisation of the right to water, which advances positive perceptions and practices relating to water and sanitation interventions. Since the election, community leaders and political officials have increasingly acknowledged water as a ‘human right’ rather than a ‘need’ or a ‘service’. Congolese state authorities showed receptiveness to civil society grievances and recommendations, committing themselves to advancing water access through upcoming public planning and budgeting. In this vein Uvira City Hall recently established a ‘Water Office’ – a recommendation from our petition.
The new ‘Water Office’ at Uvira City Hall.
Considering the increased political attention by Congolese authorities to water rights in a part of the country that has experienced regular conflict over the last three decades, it is essential to amplify our advocacy initiatives and obtain further fruitful political commitments – and interventions – for water rights and an end to freshwater contamination in DRC.
Pierre Panda is the executive secretary of Green Ark Committee. This action was funded through the Claim Your Water Rights campaign.