BY STAFF REPORTER
Addis Ababa is a century old city that has now grown up in to a metropolis. In addition to being home to more than 3 million people, it is a center of politics, economy, international travel, tourism, among others.
The City’s Cleansing Management Agency has recently launched a movement to enable the city live up to its responsibility and reputation. The campaign entitled “Cleaning is Sanctity, cleaning is civility, cleaning is well ness and cleaning helps promote tourism and investment. Sanitation is the foundation of a city’s growth and civilization.”
The movement calls for the readiness of the residents for a new chapter of the mission of this comprehensive urban sanitation movement. The movement, which will ensure the sustainable development of our city, change the way of life of the people, create a conducive living environment and create a healthy and productive citizen, will contribute to the development of our country and the expansion of investment and tourism attractions.
Neat and tidy public green areas, roads, and paths do not only contribute to a good image for visitors and the local inhabitants, but they are also a sign of a city council that works perfectly. Moreover, it is a sign that this council encourages people to keep the city clean and tidy.
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities. Current urbanization is unprecedented in scale and nature – many developing countries, most notably in Africa and South Asia, which have been rural for millennia are due to tip into becoming largely urban in the near future. And this growth is largely in informal settlements or slums.
One major challenge cities face that affects the public health of their entire populations, and indeed the world’s epidemiological security, is the provision of water and sanitation services for the poorest households and slums. Sanitation services are especially patchy, in existence and standard, in most developing country cities, with large disparities between high-income and low-income areas.
According to World Bank, waste generation rates are rising around the world. In 2016, cities generated 2 billion metric tons of solid waste, amounting to a footprint of 0.74 kilograms per person per day. With rapid population growth and urbanization, annual waste generation is expected to increase by 70 percent from 2016 levels to 3.4 billion metric tons in 2050. The urban poor, who are often underserved or have little influence on waste being disposed formally or informally near their homes, are especially impacted.
Managing waste properly is essential for building sustainable and livable cities, but it remains a challenge for many developing countries, including Ethiopia. Effective waste management is expensive, often comprising 20 to 50 percent of municipal budgets. Operating this essential municipal service requires integrated systems that are efficient, sustainable, and socially supported.
In Ethiopia, the country’s recent strong economic growth has been accompanied by rapid urbanization. This has put pressure on cities’ infrastructure and municipal services, including municipal solid waste management, WB states.
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital and largest city (by population), waste generation is rising at a rapid rate each year. Inadequate solid waste management increasingly threatens the health and livelihoods of the city’s inhabitants and the environment.
With urban population growth outpacing extension of sanitation services worldwide, urban sanitation emerges as a key challenge in the pathway towards the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs’) Sanitation target of Universal Access by 2030. In the dynamic and complex environments that cities in developing countries represent, governments and development partners alike are grappling with how to deliver city-wide sanitation services that are sustainable and include poor people.
Implementing a well thought urban sanitation and hygiene campaign is believed to be an indispensable measure to make respond to the all-rounded needs of the people. Such campaigns can make cities more livable by keeping them suitable for health, environmentally friendly and attractive enough for business, investment and tourism, among others.
Rats, mosquitoes, and cockroaches love to live in wet, garbage-filled areas. Many of these pests can also carry and spread diseases. If homes, yards, and public spaces are kept clean and maintained, there is no place for these pests to live. This means fewer illnesses for our loved ones.
Polluted waterways can be another source of disease. It is unhealthy to swim in or eat fish from contaminated waters. Healthy people tend to be happier, live longer, and miss less work or school.
Garbage thrown on the ground does not simply disappear. If not disposed of properly, trash eventually contaminates the soil and water. Healthy soil and water are needed for growing food and clean drinking water.
If we destroy nature’s beauty, we rob future generations of the opportunity to experience the natural world that we enjoy now.
Tourists and businesses are attracted to clean, healthy cities with people who care about where they live. Attracting tourism and new businesses is important to the local community, creating more employment opportunities and higher-paying jobs.
The Ethiopian Herald October 27/2021
