WASH

Project Lighthouse Africa (PLA) has been working in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for over a decade. With past, current and planned projects, PLA contributes to improving the framework conditions and access to WASH.

Although access to clean drinking water is recognized as a human right, millions of people in Africa still do not have access to safe and affordable water, according to UNICEF.

Around 400 million people on the continent live without a reliable water supply, while around 700 million people have no access to adequate sanitary facilities. According to the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, a global freshwater deficit of 40 percent is looming by 2030, which will lead to serious shortages in water-scarce regions.

Water scarcity on the African continent increases social inequalities, impairs agricultural production and increases the risk of conflicts over water resources. Urgent investment in sustainable water management systems, desalination technologies and infrastructure is needed to mitigate the effects of the impending water shortage in Africa.

PLA’s work in the context of WASH is currently focused on two problem areas:

Health consequences of poor water quality

In regions with inadequate sanitation, contaminated drinking water and poor hygiene, diarrhea and infectious diseases are particularly widespread. These diseases impair the body’s ability to absorb nutrients and lead to acute malnutrition and undernourishment.

According to WHO reports, the consumption of water containing salt and fluoride over a longer period of time can also have a negative effect on bone structure and joints. Children and the elderly are particularly affected as they are more susceptible to illnesses caused by contaminated water or a lack of water.

Social consequences of insufficient water supply

If the water supply is inadequate, this also has serious social consequences: In seven out of ten households, women and girls are responsible for fetching water.

As a result, they are often excluded from school education, which reduces their chances of employment later on and increases the risk of early marriage. In addition, water scarcity and conflicts can lead to regional instability and migration.

Together with German and local partners, PLA launched a water initiative in Senegal in 2023 with the aim of sustainably improving water security in the West African country.

Water desalination and treatment

In the area of water desalination, PLA has been operating the “Bànneexu Ndox” project in northern Senegal since the beginning of 2024, in Harivele, a municipality on the border with Mauritania and located on an important highway.

The water kiosk built there with private funds is operated sustainably with solar power and supplies the people of the region with high quality desalinated and purified drinking water at a socially acceptable price (which ensures the maintenance of the kiosk).

Building on the experience gained so far, a desalination and treatment plant is to be installed in a community near the Senegalese town of Fatick in 2025/26 to improve the livelihoods of around 20,000 more people.

Water safety and a reliable pipeline network

In order to support communities in establishing and maintaining a reliable and sustainable water supply for households, PLA has installed a powerful solar pump in a community in Oussouye in Casamance, which ensures a 24-hour water supply via the mains in a hybrid solution.

The water price is calculated in such a way that regular maintenance and renewal of the system, the pipeline network and its expansion is guaranteed.

Thanks to the project, the connected households on the surrounding islands in the river delta now also have a stable water supply for the first time. Similar projects are currently planned for 3 other communities in Casamance.

With the 2030 Agenda, the global community has committed to achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

One of these goals relates to drinking water supply and wastewater disposal. By 2030, all people worldwide should have access to clean water and toilets. At the same time, this goal is linked to other development goals, because without comprehensive access to WASH services, other SDGs, in particular the fight against hunger, health and gender equality, can hardly be achieved.

For this reason, PLA’s WASH projects pursue a cross-sectoral approach that links them with other efforts for social and economic development, security and democratization. PLA’s concepts are based on the logic of the integrated approach and the triad of security, communication and perspective development.

In other projects, PLA is integrating additional modules such as saltwater farming or saltwater fish farming into its desalination plants, which not only make use of the saline wastewater from the treatment process, but also develop new income prospects, particularly for young people and women.

Functioning water infrastructures can also be used as places of education and social exchange, which have an integrative function in local communities and can have a positive impact on their stabilization. For example, the water kiosk in Harivele has quickly developed into a meeting place for people in the region.

It thus represents a dynamic place that can contribute to the achievement of further SDG goals, for example as a place for discourse on current issues, the collection, verification and dissemination of information, the training of media skills and the development of perspectives and confidence-building cooperation with security forces.

Against this background, the projects of the Water Initiative are to be linked with elements of the PLA concept Narrative Management for Peace through Dialogue (NAMA4PD). A key aspect of the current cooperation between NAMA4PD and the Water Initiative is the strategic placement of water kiosks as Social Information Hubs at important regional hubs.

In this way, centers of regional engagement will gradually emerge, combining practical added value for the daily life of the population with the possibility of exchanging reliable information and promoting a proactive community response to potential threats from criminal or terrorist activities.