Water and Ablution facilities remain huge challenge in DRC

Sharlien Tjambari

Even with the Hepatitis E outbreak in the DRC, access to clean water remains a huge challenge as many taps at the water points are out of order. The Ministry of Health and Social Services encourages people to use running water when washing hands, but how can people do that in the DRC?

The DRC informal settlement have been in existence for more than 20 years now, but the living conditions of the DRC residents seem to be deteriorating even after numerous calls for action. During a visit to the DRC informal settlement the Swakopmund Constituency Councillor Juuso Kambueshe said it is about time that the water issue in DRC is resolved without any excuses as it is a growing concern. “Sometimes these taps are vandalised, but in most cases, it is just technical issues”.
Louise Kalumbu a DRC resident said another challenge they are facing in DRC is ablution facilities and skips which are not being cleaned on a regular basis. She further said that if the people the municipality employed to clean the ablution facilities and to clean DRC are not capable of doing their job then the municipality must give the job to the inhabitants of DRC, “we will do a better job than the people living in Mondesa”.
Another resident further said it does not help to teach people how to prevent hepatitis E while the skips are there for two weeks without being collected.
“There was a time I was infected with Cholera and I believe it is because of the dirt that surrounds us here in DRC”.