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42,6% of Namibia’s 507 249 households use bush, riverbeds for toilet


ALMOST half of the 507 249 households in the country do not have access to toilet facilities and use the bush, riverbeds and fields to relieve themselves, the Namibia Statistics Agency’s census mapping basic report for 2019 to 2021 has revealed.

In a statement released yesterday, statistician general Alex Shimuafeni said “42,6% of households countrywide have no toilet facilities, use the bush, riverbeds and fields, and this is common in rural areas (64,6 %) compared to urban areas (22,6 %)”.

Only 30% of households in Namibia use private flushing toilets.

“Disappointingly, the Kavango West and Zambezi regions show that 78,5% and 77,8% respectively, have no toilet facilities,” the report reads.

In the //Kharas and Erongo regions, more than half of households have private flushing toilets connected to the main sewer, 56,5% and 51,5%, respectively.

The report further states that the country has 507 249 dwelling units, of which 36,6% are detached houses and about 25% are improvised housing units.

According to the Borgen Project, Namibia has the lowest level of sanitation coverage in southern Africa.

ELECTRICITY

Meanwhile, about 53% of households in Namibia use firewood as the main source of energy for cooking.

“And only 31% of the households use electricity from the mains. The use of firewood was common in rural households (87,8%) whereas electricity from the mains was prominent in urban areas (52,6%),” the report reads.

According to the energy ministry, in 2021, the country’s national electrification rate amounted to approximately 45%.

In urban areas, 71% of all households have access to electricity, including off-grid sources, while the figure stands at 19% in rural Namibia.

About 62% of rural households used battery lamps and torch cellphones for lighting.

WATER

The country has 14 402 water supply points with the majority (88,8%) in rural areas and only 11,2% in urban areas.

The Zambezi region has the most water points with 14,8%, followed by Omaheke with 11,6% and Ohangwena region with 10,1%.

On the other hand, the Kavango East region recorded the lowest number of water points at 2,8%, while Oshana recorded 2,9%.

According to a 2019 United Nations water report, the country’s overall water supply situation in most urban centres is satisfactory with reasonable coverage. However, low service levels often prevail among lower income groups in informal areas near towns.

HOUSING

The NSA report also states that in the Zambezi region, most (53,8%) houses are made of mud and clay bricks.

In the rest of the country, 37,2% of dwelling units used either cement, blocks, bricks or stones for outer walls, whereas 28,7% used corrugated iron sheets.

“With respect to wooden board plastic canvas, the Erongo region recorded by far the highest figure of 28,6% when compared to all other regions,” the report reads.

It also stated that about 47,2% of the households were owner-occupied without a mortgage, while 29,6% were rent-free.

MOST POPULATED

Khomas is still the most populated region with 90 834 households, followed by 55 438 households in the Omusati region, while Kavango West (3,1%) and Kunene (3,2%) recorded the lowest proportion of households.

“Most households were found in urban areas (52,5%), while rural areas recorded 47,5%,” the report reads.

Most of these households (52,8%) are headed by men and 47,2% are led by women.

“In addition, there were about 94 households headed by persons aged 11 years old and below,” it states.

Overall, the exercise mapped 965 265 structures throughout the country.

“A total of 529 734 structures were situated in urban areas while 435 474 were located in rural areas. In terms of regional distribution, the Khomas region stood out with 140 193 structures, followed by 108 996 structures in the Oshana region,” the report further reads.





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