Addis Ababa — In her remarks during the opening of Africa Water Week in Addis Ababa on 7 May 2018, Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) deplored the extent to which chemical pollution and poor management of water resources are affecting lives across the continent.
"Today over 300 million people lack access to clean and safe water and many women and children spend hours field-searching for water and are denied the opportunity to break out of extreme poverty," said Ms. Songwe.
"Access to clean and safe water is a human right, an essential basic need that must be available for human survival," she added.
Africa Water Week is an initiative of the World Bank Group to promote sustainable water and sanitation solutions in African countries.
Guang Zhe Chen, Senior Director of the World Bank Water Global Practice reminded participants of the need to recognize water as "the engine for economic growth, food security, and human capital development."
Mr. Chen underscored the importance of expanding quality water services in a sustainable and resilient manner, noting that for this to happen, "we need to work with other sectors, partners and find public-private solutions."
The importance of public-private involvement in the water sector was also highlighted by Ethiopia's Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity - Seleshi Bekele - who stated that "the current approach of merely humanitarian assistance is unsustainable and requires urgent front-loading of investment."
Mr. Bekele listed a number of "top priority" water-related projects in Ethiopia amongst which is the Climate Resilient WaSH programme, which focuses on vulnerable regions of Ethiopia that represent 40% of its arid and semi-arid land mass. The minister urged the Bank and other development partners to "consider investing in this Ethiopian government's transformative strategy."
Ms. Songwe also voiced the importance of involving private investors in the area of water resources management in Africa.
She congratulated Ethiopia for some of its water resources management programmes, especially one in which grade school children are made to participate in a water testing and analyzing exercise.
"There's nothing better than making kids at that level understand the importance of this process," said Ms. Songwe. "This is something that can be replicated in other countries so that young people are educated on the efficient management and use of water."
The Executive Secretary stated that one of ECA's strategic directions today is to work on trans-boundary issues, and that "there's no trans-boundary issue more important than the water issues in the different basins of the continent such as the Nile and Lake Chad."
"We are working very closely with governments to ensure that water in these transboundary areas is properly managed to benefit the local populations," she noted.
Ms. Songwe used the opportunity to commend the African Union and African Heads of State for deciding to work towards the adoption of a water agenda in 2025. She expressed "hope that all the work we all are currently doing will go a long way to contribute to informing this important policy agenda that our heads of state have decided to focus on."
"As we work during this Africa water week, let's remember that water is something that touches on all the 17 SDGs," said Ms. Songwe.
Africa Water Week will run from 7 to 11 May 2018.
