Nairobi,18 November 2002: UN – HABITAT today launched a public awareness campaign to sensitize the city residents of Nairobi to the urgent need for water conservation. Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka launched the campaign at the opening of a 3 day workshop for journalists from all over Africa on 'Water Policy Issues in East Africa'. In her opening address, Mrs. Tibaijuka called upon the assembled journalists to focus their attention on water scarcity in African cities especially as it was fast becoming a potential source of social and political conflict.

"More than half of the population living in African cities today are denied access to municipal supplies of water," said Mrs. Tibaijuka. "What is worse is that while the urban poor are forced to pay street vendors five to twenty times as much for a litre of water than their affluent neighbours, up to 50% of the water supply in many cities is being wasted or is unaccounted for."

Given the rate of urbanization and the number of people living in slums and squatter settlements without adequate shelter or basic services, Mrs. Tibaijuka called upon journalists to act as the conscience of their societies and to act as social change agents. In particular she asked them to help the international community to meet the water and sanitation targets that were set during the World Summit on Sustainable Development which was held earlier this year in Johannesburg. In order to encourage journalists in their coverage of urban issues, Mrs. Tibaijuka also announced that each year there will be a special Habitat Scroll of Honour dedicated to rewarding the best journalist writing about urban issues.

The workshop is part of the Water Media Network for the 3rd World Water Forum and is being run jointly by UN-HABITAT, the World Bank Institute, the Water and Sanitation Program, the Water Utility Partnership for Africa and Coalition of African Organization on Food Security and Sustainable Development (COASAD).

Background for the Editor:
The severe water shortages in Nairobi just over a year ago are still fresh in the minds of most city residents. In common with other cities in Africa, Nairobi and several of the larger cities, like Johannesburg, Gaberone and Dakar have outgrown the capacity of local sources to meet demand and now have to move water from between 200 and 600 kilometres away. What is worse is that up to 50% of the water supply in these cities is wasted or unaccounted for.

The public awareness campaign is part of the Water for African Cities Programme initiated in December 1999 by UN-HABITAT to address the looming water crisis in most African cities. The programme includes improving the capacity of city authorities to manage the delivery of water. A critical component of the campaign is educating the public about simple ways of conserving water.

The Managing Water for African Cities Programme is a direct follow-up of the Cape Town declaration of 1997 adopted by African ministers to address the urgent need to employ better practices in the management of water resources in African cities. It is currently underway in seven demonstration cities: Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Accra (Ghana), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Dakar (Senegal), Johannesburg (South Africa) Lusaka (Zambia) and Nairobi (Kenya).

With emphasis on information, advocacy and education, the new demand - side focus of the programme complements the ongoing supply expansion efforts of city utilities, governments and external support agencies. Its ground-level action approach has generated wide political support, resulting in the establishment of a network of African policy makers, city utility managers and water sector professionals with a common interest in addressing urban water issues on the continent. As the manufacturing sector is a large user of the city's water resources, it has a vested interest in securing long-term sustainability of supplies to the city. Many companies have expressed interest in active participation in the public awareness campaign.

The UN-HABITAT/NCC public awareness campaign is based on a consumer attitude survey. It will use media such as television and radio, complemented by posters, brochures, banners and other promotional tools.

For further information, please contact: Sharad Shankardass, Spokesperson or Zahra A. Hassan, Media & Press Relations Unit, UNCHS (Habitat), Tel (254 2) 623153, 623151, Fax: (254 2) 624060, E-mail:habitat.press@unhabitat.org, Website:www.unhabitat.org