How to tackle sub-Saharan Africa’s water crisis

Water should be considered a fundamental human right, to which all human beings are entitled, regardless of their background, ethnicity, nationality, religion or race.

But consider yourself fortunate if you do have access to clean water around the clock, because it is alarming to see that one in four people globally still do not have access to safe drinking water, while 1.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. One of the regions that has the highest percentage of people that lack access to safely managed drinking water is sub-Saharan Africa.

More than half of the people in Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Chad lack access to basic water services, along with 48 percent in Eritrea, 44 percent in Somalia and Uganda, 43 percent in Angola and 37 percent in Mozambique.

It is important to examine the underlying reasons behind this humanitarian catastrophe in order to be able to efficiently chart a path that could address this critical concern.

First of all, poor infrastructure and governance, as well as a lack of investments and financing to set up and maintain reliable and basic water services, are some of the critical problems.

These deficiencies become even more noticeable in rural areas. Eisa Gouredou, a regional consultant for the World Bank, highlighted in March that rural areas are disproportionately impacted. She wrote: “180,000 children under the age of five die each year in sub-Saharan Africa from diarrheal diseases caused by lack of water, sanitation and hygiene services … 85 percent of those without water and 70 percent without sanitation live in rural areas.”

As a result of not having access to basic water services, people are forced to gather water from unsafe rivers, swamps, lakes or ponds. 

Water and gender tend to be interconnected in such situations, with women and girls disproportionately affected.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Another important problem is that water and gender tend to be interconnected in such situations, with women and girls disproportionately affected by this crisis. It is women and girls who bear the burden when there is no access to clean water services, since they are often the ones who have to spend many hours each day fetching water and carrying heavy cans of unclean water in order to provide for their families. In other words, a lack of access to clean water services leads to greater gender inequality.

In addition, this crisis is adding extra risks to these women and girls when it comes to being subjected to sexual abuse, contracting diseases and dropping out of school. When they are trying to access clean water, they are often alone and are more vulnerable to gender-based violence. It is thought that at least 17 million girls and women in Africa collect water every day, often spending more than 30 minutes doing so. So, if there were easy access to clean water throughout sub-Saharan Africa, about 8.5 million hours every day — or 7 million working days every year — would be saved.

“Clean water gives women hope, health and opportunity. They have time to start businesses, invest in their families and take charge of their own futures. It means that girls are able to spend more time in school to further their education and aspirations. Clean water gives women a chance to make their dreams a reality,” said Julia Anderson of Charity: Water.

It is a step in the right direction that Goal Six of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 is ensuring the “availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Through this framework, governments around the world can work together to provide universal access to safely managed water services. However, while some progress has been made, much more still needs to be done in order to achieve the SDG target of providing water in Africa and a basic level of drinking water service. 

Governments around the world can work together to provide universal access to safely managed water services.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

This vital process can be accelerated if it includes initiatives such as carrying out water sector reforms, attracting more investments and financing, enhancing the management of water resources and service delivery, and improving governance in sub-Saharan African nations.

We should not forget that another important factor that is contributing to the lack of access to drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa is climate change. Long periods of drought in some areas are having a negative impact on water supply, as well as food production. This is subsequently affecting people’s health.

In the long term, if the damage caused by climate change, such as water scarcity and a lack of agricultural resources, continues to increase, freshwater resources will be depleted in some countries. This will have an impact on national security and political stability in the region. It is alarming that the UN estimated in 2016 that two-thirds of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by 2025.

In other words, sub-Saharan Africa’s water crisis should not be viewed as solely Africa’s problem, but rather as a global problem that needs to be resolved through cooperation.

In a nutshell, water is life and access to it should be a fundamental right of every human being. However, people in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly women and girls, are significantly impacted by a lack of access to water. Providing more money to improve this region’s infrastructure, including carrying out water sector reforms, and tackling climate change are key steps to take.

• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist.

X: @Dr_Rafizadeh