Zambezi River Basin

Access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation by 2015 Although Zambia has serious challenges of water pollution arising from contamination by sewage and toxic industrial chemicals in mining areas, the country continues to sustain the provision of improved water supply to urban areas, although access in rural areas remains below 50 per cent, as shown in Figure 4.47.

The proportion of national population without sustainable access to an improved water source had dropped below 40 per cent by 2008 and is on course to meet the MDG target of 25.5 per cent by 2015. With respect to sanitation, however, the situation is getting worse, and the proportion of the population without access to good sanitation rose by more than 10 per cent from 26 per cent in 1991 to 36.1 per cent in 2006, far from the target of 13 per cent by 2015 (Government of Zambia 2008). Improve the lives of slum dwellers by 2020 Africa is the fastest urbanizing region in the world and Zambia was the third most highly urbanized country in southern Africa in 1990 after South Africa and Botswana (UN-HABITAT 2010). Zambia has continued to experience high levels of rural to urban migration, as citizens seek to benefit from urban-based employment opportunities and infrastructure, thus putting pressure on urban amenities and expanding unplanned settlements. Almost three-quarters of the urban populations live in unplanned settlements, as shown in Figure 4.49.

© Alida Vanni/iStockphoto.com

Access to safe water for the urban and rural population in Zambia

Percentage

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

Proportion of urban dwellers living in slum conditions in Zambia

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

Rural

Urban

Percentage

Source: AfDB 2010

74.5

Figure 4.47

74.0

73.5

Proportion of population without access to improved sanitation in Zambia

73.0

80 Percentage

72.5

72.0

70

71.5

60

50

71.0

1990

2001

40

Source: UNEP 2008

MDG target of 13% by 2015

30

Figure 4.49

20

The Government of Zambia progress reports for MDGs (2008, 2011) showed that the country has made significant progress towards reaching all goals, except MDG 7 on environmental sustainability, and that the pace of progress must be accelerated.

10

0

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Source: Government of Zambia 2008

Figure 4.48

107