Clean water - a basic human right
Since then about 6,5 million people have been given a basic water supply. By mid-2002 27 million people had access to clean water. A policy giving poor families 6 000 litres of free water every month was implemented in late 2000.
According to a survey conducted by the department, 51 percent of the country’s population live in areas where municipalities are now offering a basic amount of free water every month.
Sanitation
During 1999/00 R75-billion was spent on sanitation but an outbreak of cholera in 2000/2001 emphasised the need for the urgent delivery of additional basic sanitation services. A sum of R135-million was made available for the delivery of water and sanitation services over the next three
years in areas in KwaZulu-Natal affected by cholera.
In early 2002 the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene campaign (WASH), a global health programme, was initiated to highlight the importance of washing hands after toilet use in reducing disease. In the 2001 financial year the department spent R120-million constructing 50 000 pit latrines and will continue to do so until all people have access to basic sanitation within 10 to 15 years.
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