Section 9: Right to Water and Sanitation
444- The Sustainable Development Goal 6 provides, “Ensure availability and sustainable
management of water and sanitation for all”289. As contained in the previous Report (§ 411),
the State had already streamlined its action in this direction by setting the target in the GESP
at75% of people expected to have access to drinking water by 2020290. The national liquid
sanitation strategy adopted in August 2011 targeted a national coverage increase rate from
34% in 2008 to 57% in 2021. In a bid to achieve the said objective, focus was geared towards
enhancing water supply and liquid sanitation coverage.
§1: Enhancing Water Supply
445- Water supply strategy was adjusted depending on whether it concerned urban, suburban
or rural areas.
A: Water Supply in Urban and Suburban Areas
446- The evaluation of the implementation of the water supply lease contract resulted in the
development of an institutional framework. Besides, different projects helped increase the
production capacity and extend the supply network.
1: Development of an Institutional Framework
447- The development of an institutional framework aims at setting up a balanced drinking
water production and distribution chain. Thus, at the end of the lease contract between the
State (leasing authority) – Camwater (concessionaire) – CDE (leaseholder)291, the
organizational set up of CAMWATER was amended pursuant to Decree No. 2018/144 of 20
February 2018 to reorganised the Cameroon Water Utilities Corporation to enable it not only
to manage the rights and properties allocated for public drinking water supply, but also to
exploit the production, transportation and distribution of drinking water in urban and suburban
areas (See article 3 of the Decree).
2: Increase in the Network Production and Extension Capacity
448- The production capacity increased in the urban and suburban areas. CAMWATER used
its projects to enhance drinking water supply by increasing the production capacity from
498,936m3 in 2012 to 721,080m3 in 2017, representing an increase of 211,144m3/day. The
production capacity in the CAMWATER Centres helped supply water to 14,421,600 persons
289
The challenges are still many and include:
2.1 billion people, about 30% of the world population are not connected to home drinking water
services, and 4.5 billion people, about 60% do not have access to properly managed sanitation services
in 2015;
1.8 billion people use a water source contaminated by faecal matter, thereby risking an outbreak of
cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever and poliomyelitis;
half a billion people experience acute water shortage throughout the year; and
20% of world aquifers are over-exploited.
290
As part of the implementation of Law No. 2004/17 of 22 July 2004 to lay down the orientation of
decentralization that devotes among others, the transfer of powers and resources to councils, a document entitled
“Guide on the exercise of powers transferred by the State to Councils” was drawn up in 2016 in collaboration
with the Special Council Support Fund (FEICOM) and financed by the German Cooperation (GIZ).
291
The Camerounaise des Eaux that started its activities on 2 May 2008 and that will run for a period of 10 years
is expected to carry out public water supply in Cameroon within a perimeter covering 110 urban and suburban
areas.
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