Charlotte MacAlister, the lead author of the Global Water Security 2023 Assessment report, says African governments and citizens must take urgent actions to boost water security
"Water is life" is a familiar refrain that emphasizes the indispensability of water to living organisms, particularly humans.
Yet a recently released Global Water Security 2023 Assessment by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health finds that out of nearly 7.8 billion people in 186 countries, 5.2 billion (72 per cent) are water insecure. That includes 1.3 billion Africans--Africa's entire population.
Charlotte MacAlister In fact, 13 African countries are critically water insecure, according to the report. These include: Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.
The report lists key drivers of water insecurity as global population and economic growth, conflicts, and the effects of climate change.
It notes "a sharp disparity in water security across global regions and sub-regions. The least water-secure regions are Africa, including the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and parts of West Africa, in addition to South Asia, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) across the world."
It adds that "Europe and the Americas are significantly more water secure than other global regions."
The report was released during last month's UN Water Conference in New York, the first in nearly 50 years. The aim of the gathering was to reach a "bold Water Action Agenda that gives our world's lifeblood the commitment it deserves," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Many consider the conference's outcomes half-full; others say half-empty. Mr. Guterres called the Water Action Agenda an "ambitious vision."
"The conference should have included binding commitments for investments in water, particularly in the global south, to meet SDG 6 targets in all countries," says Charlotte MacAlister, the lead author of the assessment report, in a post-conference interview with Africa Renewal.
Nevertheless, Africa got many important wins at the water conference, she says.
"A clear win [for Africa] was the spotlight shone on the poor progress in WASH [water and sanitation hygiene]." Specifically, she highlights the WASH commitments made by five African countries.
5 African countries made WASH commitments
- Ethiopia - to revise the policy to accommodate loan access for water and sanitation for businesses and consumers. It will establish a strong accountability framework that aligns with the ONEWASH National Programme.
- Ghana - to establish a National Sanitation Authority, reduce inequalities in water and sanitation services, particularly in poor and rural communities, and make Ghana's cities some of the cleanest in Africa.
- Liberia - to increase access to basic sanitation, end open defecation, and create a unifying monitoring mechanism at all governance levels to improve institutional coordination.
- Uganda -to increase public financing for water, sanitation, and hygiene.
- Zimbabwe - to create a State of Emergency on Water and Sanitation and prioritize budget and coordination.
There is the paradox of Africa having abundant water availability yet being the most water-insecure region. Ms. MacAlister explains why: "When water availability is assessed using the SDG 6.4.2 indicator (level of freshwater stress), 45 out of the 54 African countries score very highly, indicating that more water is available than is used.
"However, almost all [African] countries scored very low for the level of access to safely managed water and sanitation (WASH services), with the exceptions of Algeria, Egypt, The Gambia, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia."
At the same time, she says, "Almost all countries have very low levels of wastewater treatment, with Algeria and South Africa as notable exceptions."
Quoting WHO 2019 data, Ms. MacAlister says low levels of wastewater treatment link to high mortality rates resulting from unsafe WASH services. The data shows 20 African countries "have extremely high mortality rates," which is between 46 and 108 deaths per 100,000 population annually.
Countries with high WASH-related mortality ratesCountries' deaths per 100,000 population
- Lesotho 108.1
- Chad 99.2
- Somalia 99.2
- Central African Republic 97
- Nigeria 71.7
- Niger 70.3
- Sierra Leone 69.5
- South Sudan 68.1
- Eritrea 66.5, Mali 66.1
- Burkina Faso 60.9
- Benin 60.2
- Guinea 57.8
- Burundi 53.3
- Democratic Republic of the Congo 52.3
- Guinée-Bissau 49.4
- Angola 48.9
- Cameroon 47.3
- Côte d'Ivoire 47
- Eswatini 46.5
Sources - WHO
During the Water Conference, Nigeria officially became the 48th Party to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, also known as the Water Convention. and the seventh African nation to join since 2018 (following Chad, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Togo and Cameroon).
Nigeria shares with its neighbours most of its water resources, which include Lake Chad and the River Niger. According to the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), that services the Convention's secretariat, joining neighbouring Parties will bolster conflict prevention, climate change adaptation and development.
Silver lining
The good news is, between 2016 and 2019, 18 countries made progress in reducing WASH-related deaths, according to the Water Security Assessment.
Another bright spot for Africa is that countries such as Angola, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are using water efficiently, even as most countries scored low for water use efficiency.
Ms. MacAlister says that "In terms of water resource stability, 33 countries are severely impacted by fluctuations from year to year... which can mean drought one year, flood the next. But only 10 of those countries are currently able to mitigate this variability with large reservoir storage."
"It is impossible to achieve any of the SDGs without water security. Maybe that is why the world is failing in so many targets. We live on a blue planet--what can be achieved without water?" she questions.
Recommendations
"Africa desperately needs investment in WASH and water infrastructure, and this must also come with accelerated capacity building, which must properly address the gender inequities in the sector," recommends Ms. MacAlister.
She further says that "This means safely managed drinking water and sanitation, appropriate and accessible hygiene measures at home, at school, in health care and other public facilities, and in the workplace.
Critically water-insecure countries in Africa:
- Chad
- Comoros
- Djibouti
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Niger
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
Source: Global Water Security 2023 Assessment
"This requires water infrastructure development that provides appropriate water supply for domestic, agricultural, service sector and industrial use, and ensures wastewater management for all of those sectors."
"It is important to maintain environmental flows to support freshwater ecosystems and watershed health, and planning for a future where available fresh water is going to be more and more uncertain, so mitigation and adaptation strategies are critical."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Planning for the future and taking "a full range of mitigation measures through different kinds of storage, large and small, surface, groundwater, and green water, and potentially unconventional water sources" are also important, she advises.
The International Union of Soil Sciences defines the three colours of water as "green water being evapotranspired rainwater from soil, blue water used for irrigation and grey water contaminated by agrichemicals."
What citizens can do
What top three things should ordinary Africans be doing to improve water security?
Ms. MacAlister says, first, citizens must hold their local and national governments accountable because "safe water and sanitation are human rights and must be a development priority."
- citizens "can conserve water through simple practices such as rainwater harvesting, planting drought-resistant crops, and using grey water for irrigation." She advises governments to carry out public education campaigns to raise awareness of water conservation.
- she urges citizens and communities to be involved in decisions and actions taken in water governance and management. "It is essential that women and marginalized groups have a voice--all stakeholders must have a seat at the table."
With the water conference over, Ms. MacAlister says water security need not be an issue for one news cycle. "We've been aware of water security issues since the 80s; we have been aware of water management issues and water insecurity in Africa for much longer. Why is it still an issue?
"There is a drought or a famine or a catastrophic event, and it makes the news, but then what happens afterward? We need to do more than just raise the issue. We need to take action."
