Mbabane – About 300 houses with decent toilets have been constructed for child-headed homesteads and vulnerable families under the government’s decent shelter programme since 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla said during a media address as the country marks the Day of the African Child.
At least 5000-litre water tanks have also been provided to the identified families.
The government has also improved coordinated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes across communities, schools, and health facilities with the aim of ensuring that children have services where they need them most,” Dladla said. 
The Eswatini government has achieved tremendous progress in WASH, delivering basic water services to 80% of the population and basic sanitation to 58%. Dladla acknowledged that teamwork was essential to these accomplishments.
“As the government, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the well-being and holistic development of every child. Achieving universal WASH requires the government, communities, and partners to work together. We are therefore accelerating multi-sectoral efforts to improve WASH access as part of our broader mandate on community development,” the DPM said.
However, there is still a lot of progress to go through.
Some of the remaining issues include the fact that 11% of rural households continue to practise open defecation, as well as poor handwashing practices.
Moreover, there are inadequate sanitation facilities that still pose serious health risks, particularly for children under five who are most vulnerable to waterborne diseases.
Facilities suitable for children with disabilities are also lacking, while child-headed households and those in remote chiefdoms bear the heaviest burden of WASH deprivation.
The commemoration of the Day of the African Child is done every June 16. It is held under the theme “Ensuring Universal Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Every Child in Eswatini”.
The theme is appropriate because it aims to accelerate progress toward universal access to safe water, appropriate sanitation, and hygiene for children in Eswatini, according to Dladla. It also contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 — ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030, including improving water quality, increasing water use efficiency, and protecting water-related ecosystems.
