Population:
8,832,000
GNI Total per capita:
Life Expectancy m/f
(years):
$7,770
66/70
Total Expenditure on
health as % of GDP:
5.8%
Percent of agricultural
lands:
54.9%
Percent of population
in urban areas:
52%
Percent of population
in rural areas:
Literacy Rate:
Highest level of
compulsory
education:
Percent of children
under 5 who die of
diarrhoeal disease:
Total percent of
population with
access to improved
drinking water
sources:
Total percent of
population with
access to improved
sanitation facilities:
48%
99.5%
Eight Grade
13%
80%
45%
Azerbaijan
2. Inhabitants of Azerbaijan are plagued with problems of water access and sanitation, especially
suffering from drinkable water shortages from low precipitation and high evaporation. Another
problem faced is the use of water for irrigation, soil salinity, and malaria incidence. According to
the UN database on water and sanitation issues in Azerbaijan nearly three quarters of the
population have access to improved water sources. However, Azerbaijan is poor in terms in
available water resources, which is most prominent in the rural areas. In urban areas 76% of the
population has access to piped water; however, only 19% of the population in rural areas has
access to piped water. 65% of people in rural areas receive their water through public tap,
borehole, dug well, or other not improved sources. The water is also polluted by industrial
pollutants such as heavy metals, ammonia, and nitrates. Shallow wells in small scale water
supplies are contaminated with micro organisms and nitrates. According to the website, since
obtaining its independence Azerbaijans water quality infrastructure has deteriorated due to
insufficient investment and maintenance. Often in many secondary and small towns water
treatment facilities are not functional or lacking completely. The sanitation facilities are not
much better than the water treatment facilities. Many towns do not have functioning sewerage
collection and treatment systems. The facilities available are low functioning and pose serious
threats to human health and the environment. The cost of recovery and billing is often left to
inadequate government subsidies.
3. In urban areas 76% of people have access to piped water sources; in rural areas only 19% of
people have access to piped water. Another 65% in rural areas receive their water from not
improved sources such as public tap, boreholes, or dug wells. The sanitation situation is not
much better and the available and preexisting infrastructure poses a serious threat to public and
environmental health. Recently the foreign minister stated that Azerbaijan was well on track to
meet the Millennium Development Goals of ensuring water and sanitation safety in the urban
areas. However, progress was slow in the rural areas. There are still efforts to ensure the piped
water being supplied to some regions meets international health standards and ensure adequate
supply is being met. The Millennium Development Goals for Azerbaijan concerning the total
population with access to improved water resources and basic sanitation went from 70% in 1990
to 80% in 2008. Azerbaijan is on track to meet the goals set but has yet reached them. In both
rural and urban populations the goal to allow access to improved drinking sources has resulted in
Azerbaijan reaching that goal.
4.
5. A water and sanitation project takes place in six adjacent rural communities in Azerbaijan.
These are communities Sabirabad, Saatli, Ismayili, and Shemakha. These communites suffer
from water shortages and lack of sanitation which the project seeks to emoliarate based on
locally identified needs. The target groups of the project are the inhabitants and various
stakeholder groups, such as; farmers and NGOs. In these regions only 58% of people have access
to safe drinking water which contributees to poverty and poor health. The water in this region is
contaminated by industrial pollutants such as heavy metals, ammonia, and nitrates. The shallow
wells in this region are also contaminated by micro organisms and nitrates. In these regions pitlatrines are the primary form of santitation ans often resilt in groundwater pollution. Little
attention and low awareness is given to hygeine, water and sanitation related diseases, and the
affordable technologies to improve these situations. The goals of the project is to improve the
economic status and health of rural populations, to develop and implement small-scale,
affordable, and environmentally friendly approaches to improve water and sanitation quality,
organize authorities and stakeholders to produce better water and sanitation initiatives, improve
rural development policies, contribute to achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals,
and to increase cooperation between native populations and other organizations. This project will
build the capacity of local non-state actors and local people in 6 rural communities to tackle their
energy, water, sanitation and related health problems, and thus reduce poverty. A total of 120
people will be trained as trainers in sustainable energy and sanitation solutions. 24-30 people will
become core trainers and sustainability planners. 10.000 people in 6 rural communities and
local/regional authorities will be informed about sustainable energy and water/sanitation
solutions and will be given tools to improve health, gender and economic status in particular in
the vulnerable groups. The implementation of the demonstration projects will serve as an
innovative best practice example on sustainable development. Problems cannot be solved
overnight, but the aim is to take a first step towards community mobilisation on the one hand,
and awareness raising about de-central, effective and low cost solutions to problems faced by
similar rural communities on the other. Small-scale solutions will be introduced at local and
household level, and then the know-how and information will be disseminated at a broader level,
with involvement of decision-makers and introducing the culture of WSPs, ecological and safe
sanitation, and small-scale renewable energy at regional level with the possibility to collaborate
with neighbouring communities in Georgia for experience exchange and strengthening of Ecosan
approaches in the South Caucasus. Furthermore, results will be spread at EU level and
experiences as well as lessons learned will be shared amongst the WECF network (100 NGOs) in
40 countries. The rural communities will participate in trainings organized by the project
partners. They also will be informed about the issues of water and sanitation and of energy by
publications and press coverage of the project. Furthermore, guidelines on safe sanitation and
reducing water pollution as well as alternative sources of energy will be disseminated to the
general public and policy-makers in the 6 rural communities.