Clean water and sanitation constitutes one the most fundamental goals, since water is the foundation resource for healthy ecosystems. The world economic Forum 2015 Global Risk Report ranked water crises as the highest impact risk out of 28. In the 2016 report water crises has been ranked as the third highest risk. Sanitation is also another key priority affecting individual health.
This includes:
- Achieving access to safe and affordable drinking water
- Achieving access to sanitation and hygiene and end open defecation
- Improving water quality, wastewater treatment and safe reuse
- Increase water-use efficiency and ensure freshwater supplies
- Implement integrated water resources management
- Protect and restore water-related ecosystems
- Expand international cooperation and capacity building
- Support stakeholder participation.
2017 in Madagascar the proportion of population using safely managed drinking water service is about 59% with 86% in urban areas having access to at least some basic service and 43% in rural areas having access to unimproved drinking water service; and 13% using surface water at the national level.
Concerning sanitation issues, only 11% of citizens at the national level have access to a safely managed sanitation service; 23% of the population open defecation service and 57% use open defecation and 6% have access to a safely managed service.
This trend shows how water and sanitation is still a serious issue for Madagascar to resolve.
SDG 6 snapshot in Madagascar
Drinking water— % of the population in Madagascar use a safely managed drinking water service (SDG indicator 6.1.1, 2017)
Sanitation— % of the population in Madagascar use a safely managed sanitation service (SDG indicator 6.2.1a, 2017)
Hygiene— % of the population in Madagascar have access to a basic handwashing facility (SDG indicator 6.2.1b, 2017)
Wastewater— % of the household wastewater in Madagascar are safely treated (SDG indicator 6.3.1, 2015)
Water quality–91 % of water bodies covered by reporting in Madagascar have a good ambient water quality (SDG indicator 6.3.2, 2017)
Efficiency–1 $/m3 is the value added from the use of water by people and the economy in Madagascar (SDG indicator 6.4.1 on water-use efficiency, 2005)
Water stress–11 % of the renewable water resources in Madagascar are being withdrawn, after taking into account environmental flow requirements (SDG indicator 6.4.2 on level of water stress, 2014)
Water management–36 % is the degree of implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in Madagascar (SDG indicator 6.5.1, 2017)
Transboundary n/a of transboundary basin area in Madagascar have an operational agreement for water cooperation (SDG indicator 6.5.2, 2017)
Ecosystems–-4.5 % is the change in spatial extent of water-related ecosystems in Madagascar in 2016 (compared to the baseline year period of 2001–2005), based on earth observation data (SDG indicator 6.6.1)
Cooperation–27 m$ is the amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance disbursed to Madagascar in 2017 (SDG indicator 6.a.1)
Participation–+ Stakeholder participation is measured through multiple indicators which are not aggregated into one overall value (SDG indicator 6.b.1)
Various initiatives have been taken by civil society organizations to help address the issue.
Inter Aide is an NGO which targets areas of intervention in Madagascar where the needs of the population in water sanitation and hygiene are very high. Inter aide has conducted programs such as Wash program aiming at durably reducing the prevalence of waterborne diseases. By improving both the quality and quantity of water and by improving basic sanitation through infrastructure adapted to local capabilities.
