Social Policy in the Development Context: Water, Health and Sanitation in Ghana and Nigeria

The Second Draft of the 2003 Nigerian National Water Resources Management Policy opens with the words, ‘Water is life’ (Nigeria 2003: 3). It declares that adequate water supply is central to civilization and supports the position of Agenda 21 that ‘Human health depends on a healthy environment, including clean water, sanitary waste disposal and an adequate supply of healthy food’ (Keating 1993: 10). These declarations recognize that the world population tripled in the last century while water withdrawal increased six times. Today, 1.1 billion and 2.4 billion people, respectively, are without improved sources of water and sanitation services. Thirty-one countries face chronic freshwater shortages. Forecasts suggest that this number could increase to 48 by 2025. About 2.5 billion people have no sanitary means of human waste disposal. Two million die annually of water and sanitation-related diseases. Another 2 million, mostly children, die of diarrhoeal diseases (WHO/UNICEF 2000). Against this background, a debate has developed between proponents of privatized health services and water supply, and advocates of state responsibility for their continued subsidization. The present chapter examines this issue with regard to the water, health and sanitation policies of Nigeria and Ghana, their macroeconomic orientations, and the extent to which social policy formulation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is shaped by the vested interests of metropolitan business and a western creditor cartel.