Senegal took a decisive step yesterday, Thursday June 12, 2024, with the official launch of the “Improvement of Governance of the Sanitation Sub-sector in Senegal” (SAN-GOV) project. The event, held in Diamniadio, was marked by an introductory speech by Mr. Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, in the presence of many partners and key players in the sanitation sub-sector. The minister announced Senegal’s ambitions for universal national access to on-site sanitation by 2030.
“The State aims to achieve universal access to sanitation by 2030 throughout Senegal…It is a question of human dignity.” Dr Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, made the announcement yesterday, Thursday morning June 12, 2024, during the official launch of the project “Improvement of Governance of the Sanitation Sub-sector in Senegal” (SAN-GOV) in Diamniadio. Despite the efforts of recent years, Senegal still faces considerable challenges in sanitation. In 2022, the access rate to sanitation services was 71.7% in urban areas and 52.6% in rural areas, with a national average of 61.2%. However, 12.1% of the population still practices open defecation, a major problem for public health and the environment. “We have a very strong ambition that by 2030, when the international community will meet to evaluate those who have been able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), that we can say that Senegal is among the first, in Africa and in the world, to achieve universal access to sanitation. The current overall access rate being 61.2%, our ambition is to go to 100% in the years to come,” projected the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation on the challenges for achieving SDG6. According to him, the SAN-GOV project aims to respond to these challenges through a series of strategic initiatives, improving the legal framework for the implementation of a pilot phase of sanitation policing and revision of texts, the strengthening performance monitoring with the implementation of management and monitoring tools for service quality, coordination of stakeholders with the restructuring and deconcentration of the Framework for Consultation and Exchange of Actors in the sub-sector of Sanitation (CCEA), capacity building with training of sanitation stakeholders.
The Minister expressed his gratitude to technical and financial partners, notably the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for their support in this crucial initiative. “Universal access to Water and Sanitation remains one of the major challenges of the international community, particularly in Africa south of the Sahara,” he recalled, emphasizing the importance of this project in the Senegalese context. With funding of $1.8 million, the SAN-GOV project, the result of a collaboration started in 2022 with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to strengthen the sanitation governance chain in Senegal and create a enabling environment for safe and sustainable sanitation services. The minister insisted on the importance of rigorous monitoring and the mobilization of all stakeholders. “I invite all stakeholders to take ownership of the activities so that together we can achieve the goals we have set for ourselves,” he said. He also thanked the partners for their constant support, notably GGGI, Speak Up Africa and International Budget Partnership (IBP) for their continued support in the sanitation sub-sector.
The SAN-GOV project is part of the guidelines of the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, aimed at improving the living environment of the Senegalese and promoting effective governance of public services. With this project, Senegal is giving itself the means to meet the challenges of sanitation and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
