We are in the decade of action. A decade that promises to bring the entire globe on the same page through the 17 Sustainable Development Goals SDGs, and for us at Natview Africa, it is a decade we pledge to enforce social good in key sectors of our society through the power of data science. 

In recent years, our foundation has designed and successfully implemented several technology programs that provide innovators across the public sector and the developmental space with platforms for experimenting and using the power of technology to confront real-world challenges and policy issues by providing exciting ways to generate data for decision making. One of such programs is the Warawa Living Lab Program.

The Warawa Living Lab Program

After years of meticulous planning and hundreds of man-hours invested in project execution, the NFTI will be unveiling and launching the Warawa Living Lab project at Kurna Yan Dachi Community in Kano State, Nigeria.

With the increasing effects of climate change being felt, several communities in Northern Nigeria have adopted coping strategies to deal with the effect of drought to secure their daily need for water and sanitation. However, with no existence of pipe-borne water, borehole, or any systematic form of purified/clean water, it is evident that these communities are struggling to meet their daily needs for clean water and sanitation and this has impacted their health, education, and migration.

The Warawa Community in Kano have always depended on water from ponds, streams and wells

The Warawa Living Lab Project seeks to develop innovative strategies to address the issue of water scarcity in some of our most vulnerable communities while using data generated from such intervention to understudy the impact of the provision of water to everyday social issues and behavioral patterns driving decisions in communities with lack of access to this necessary commodity.

The Living Lab provides water whilst infusing technology to collect data for social good

NFTI’s partnership with communities in Kano State promises to deliver sustainable change. Our innovative social infrastructure is currently addressing the issue of water scarcity in some of the most vulnerable areas. The goal is to provide water whilst infusing technology to collect data for social good. So far, over 4,000 inhabitants of the Warawa Community have been impacted by the NFTI’s Living Lab Program. Several people are now meeting their daily needs for clean water and sanitation, and this is having a positive impact on their health and education. 

One of the immediate impacts can be seen in the light of the ongoing Cholera epidemic in Nigeria. Nigeria is currently facing one of the worst cholera outbreaks in decades and Kano State has been identified as one of the red zones for the ongoing outbreak. Fortunately, due to the presence of our intervention facility which provides clean water to the community, no cholera incident has been recorded.

A Healthier Community

 

With less than 10 years left to implement and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we strongly believe that our Living Lab Program will help policymakers to accelerate efforts needed to boost sustainable change in the areas of good health & well being, clean water & sanitation, sustainable cities & communities, zero poverty, and quality education for all.

NFTI – Using the power of data science to guarantee a better tomorrow for all. #Data4SocialGood