Sanitation costing Kiribati millions

Rapid population growth and a density greater than some Asian cities is putting huge pressure on the water and sanitation system in Kiribati.

The Asian Development Bank says the situation is dire and it highlights the impact of under-investment in the main urban centre of South Tarawa along with the knock-on effects on public health. The ADB and the Australian Government are spending $22.5 million to upgrade the sewerage system in South Tarawa, where there is water for only two hours every two days.

Health Ministry figures show that each year, 35,000 people get sick from diarrhoea, dysentery or related illnesses and on average, there are three outbreaks of acute diarrhoeal diseases.

The ADB’s Allison Woodruff has told Pacific Beat that inadequate sanitation and poor water supplies are costing the Kiribati Government more than $7 million a year which amounts to about four per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

“You can really see the linkages - people get sick, they have to seek treatment in hospital so that costs the government money in terms of doctors (and) medicine,” she said.

“Patients and family members lose time caring for sick family members and then, of course, if people are sick, they're not working, so that has big impacts of the overall economy.”

Ms Woodruff says the Kiribati Government is very aware of the critical situation and it taking measures to address it.

She says Kiribati faces a particular challenge because it has the weak institutional capacity that you would expect in a developing country and also South Tarawa, as a low-lying atoll, faces some fundamental challenges.

Kiribati’s population is growing at 4.5 per cent a year and South Tarawa is extremely densely populated, exceeding some parts of South-East Asia like Singapore.

Water is also a problem – there’s limited fresh water as Kiribati is dependent on fresh water lenses where fresh groundwater floats on top of denser salt water.

These lenses are vulnerable to salt water intrusion from climate changes along with the impact or storms and king tides.

“Everyone is well aware of the critical need to address the situation and the Ministry of Public Works has come out with sanitation guidelines to reduce contamination from inadequate sanitation systems,” she said.

The recently-launched South Tarawa Sanitation Improvement Sector Project will upgrade the existing sewage systems to provide improved access to sanitation among low-income households and to address sanitation behaviour and hygiene.

Ms Woodruff says South Tarawa’s population density is a particular challenge in terms of public health risks and the spread of disease.

“There’s a lot that has to be done on the soft infrastructure side in terms of institutional reform so the Government really is looking to push utilities reforms as part of its efforts to reform State-Owned Enterprises,” she said.

“There’s a lot of effort that's been put on capacity building as well as to build the government’s capacity to address the current situation.

“And also in terms of community engagement - mobilising communities in terms of promoting improved knowledge on the links between inadequate water supply and sanitation and the effects on community health.”