Strategies and techniques of providing adequate and affordable potable water in rural areas of Nigeria

Water is next to air in importance. The World Bank declared water as an economic good while endorsing the international demand for water supply. Human health depends on having access to safe, adequate and reliable water supply. In Africa, and of course in Nigeria, one half of the entire continent’s people (particularly in rural areas/communities), suffer from one or more of the six main diseases associated with poor or polluted water. Statistics show that Africa has the highest occurrence of cholera and typhoid epidemics as well as child diarrhea. Of the 46 countries in which schistosomiasis are endemic, 40 are in Africa, of the 19 countries reporting guinea worm, 16 are in Africa. In September 2000, 147 heads of state and governments, and 189 nations in total, committed themselves to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One of the targets defined for achieving the MDGs is to “halve by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation”. This paper constitutes a source of information for water and sanitation coverage estimates in southwest geo-political zone of Nigeria. It provides information of the current status of water supply and sanitation in the zone. The paper attempts to look into the appropriateness of the use of the technology of integrated mini water scheme and infiltration gallery as a means of providing safe and adequate domestic water to rural community people to serve as the best preventive medicine against the prevalent water diseases. Key words: Strategies, affordable, adequate, potable, water.