89 African Water Crisis Facts You Should Be Aware Of

A water crisis is an important issue that cannot be ignored anymore.These water crisis facts will take you on a tour of why it has hampered Africa’s growth over the years. You can help them overcome the crisis by investing in the sector.The issue of the water crisis has affected around 750 million people worldwide, but no other region has been more affected than sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria, including other 46 countries, forms a part of this region. Poverty spreads in these parts of Africa like an epidemic since people do not get even necessary resources like sanitized and safe drinking water. More than 320 million people do not get clean drinking water in this region. Some of the world’s poorest countries are found in sub-Saharan Africa, and poverty is a huge barrier to the water and sanitation of these areas. Environmental economics say that water stress can be detrimental to the growing economies of the world.African Water Crisis FactsThe water systems of Africa are chronically overburdened by the increasing stress of urban areas.Increasing population and destruction of river catchments have degraded the water quality of freshwater.Lack of infrastructure, incompetent government, corruption, and mismanagement of resources has escalated the problem of water crisis further in Africa.In some areas, contaminated water supply has disrupted cross-border peace. Incorporating measures to improve the water quality of Africa should be considered a part of economic development to improve economic water scarcity.Nearly 40% of entire sub-Saharan Africa does not have access to a reliable and safe source of drinking water.Sub-Saharan Africa represents 50% of the total population of the world that does not have access to clean water resources.The United Nations Environmental Program has released data stating that by 2025, 22 out of 55 countries of the African continent will experience less than 60,0345 ft3 (1700 m3) of water levels.Measures taken by North Africa to provide safe and clean drinking water to its inhabitants have been effectively successful.92% of people in North Africa have sustainable access to a clean water supply.Half of the population of Africa suffered from water-related diseases during the water crisis in 1997. They suffered from at least one major water-borne illness because of the consumption of contaminated drinking water.The last 25 years saw a doubling of the total population in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, the water supply only increased by 20% in this region, making water problems more acute.More than two-thirds of the population of 24 countries in Sub-Sahara cover long distances to get or collect water for their daily use.The survey clarifies that nearly 13.5 million adult females and 3.4 million children in these countries have to travel daily for more than 30 minutes to collect water for use in households.A great population of Sub-Sahara has always relied on surface water. Surface water refers to any water source found on the earth’s surface like rivers, ponds, and lakes. However, these water sources are prone to water pollution.The presence of a large number of pollutants in water is not considered to be a reliable water and sanitation source. Water from the surface should never be consumed unless it is filtered and sanitized.Children and women spend a lot of labor and time traveling to fetch water for households.The struggle to access safe water has affected the well-being of the people. They are exposed to many health risks.It is often seen that children have to drop out of school to provide water for their family, although the water that is collected with so much effort is still unclean and poorly sanitized.The growing urban population in sub-Saharan Africa has increased the demand for water by a high level. The population growth outpaced the water and sanitation development in the countries of that area.At present, only 56% of the urban population of sub-Saharan Africa gets access to piped water. This has declined from 67% in 2003.Lack of environmental research and poor long-term investments by the government for several decades resulted in failure to match the growing water demand in the countries.The annual investment gap in the water sector of Africa is 22 billion dollars. They invest 0.5% of the annual GDP.You may think that Africa has little access to water after seeing the stats on water scarcity, but that is not exactly the case. Rather there are abundant water resources in Africa.There are 64 transboundary river basins in Africa that make up to 93% of the total surface water in the continent.There is a total of 677 lakes in Africa, and the continent accounts for the highest volume of non-frozen water bodies. The problem is not lack of water resources but lack of drinking water resources.According to a report published by the United Nations, unsafe water is the cause of around 90% of cases of malaria in Africa.Reasons For Water ShortagesOut of 783 million people on earth that have no access to clean water, around 40% population belongs to sub-Saharan Africa. The common driving forces of the water crisis in parts of sub-Saharan Africa are natural disasters, climate change, and increased pollution.Sanitation facilities meant for separating human waste, so that humans do not come in contact with them, are poorly developed in Africa, leaving people no choice but to defecate in the open.Exposed human wastes are transferred to food and water resources and pollute those resources.About one-fourth of the entire population that defecate in the open belongs to sub-Saharan Africa.Using this poor quality water causes various water-borne diseases. It is said that more than 115 people die every hour in Africa due to poor sanitation, polluted drinking water, and bad hygiene.Flood and drought are some significant disasters that hampered the environmental sustainability of Africa.Flooding introduces many pollutants in water sources and destroys hygiene.Droughts in the dry countries of Sub-Sahara cause acute water shortage; it denies the supply of water or supplies a limited amount of water to the households.Agricultural efforts and food crops get wasted in areas with little to no rainfall, and 66% of the population lives in such areas.Water availability has become less predictable than ever in sub-Saharan countries due to inconsistent climate changes.Droughts are becoming drier and lasting for longer periods due to climate change increasing water stress.The poor management policies of water resources in Africa are partially attributed to this unpleasant situation in Africa.Africa’s population is rising rapidly, making it vulnerable to water stress.The government and relevant stakeholders have failed to meet the demands for increasing water as there is barely any investment in this sector.The absence of immediate government action regarding the issue of the water crisis is also expected to increase the urban slum population in sub-Saharan Africa.Most of the growing population depends on old infrastructure for the supply of water to the household.Dams and other water supply networks are managed poorly by the government. These underused poor facilities supply a lower capacity of water than what is actually required.Armed conflicts of the last decade are also a cause for the wear crisis. It challenged the communities that lack basic needs, including water and sanitation.The infrastructure gap has been widened by poor management of a weak government. Policymakers play a significant role in reducing water stress in the area.Infrastructure meant for drilling out groundwater or piping out water from clean sources is very expensive, which the poor people of the area cannot afford.For this reason, adequate investment should be directed towards conducting researches for increasing water sanitation at both state and national levels.The government can also scale up the capacity of water networks such as dams so that they give improved access to clean water.Proper research is also required for this sector. This will reveal the actual size of investment that is required in this sector and also the amount or quantity of water that needs to be recycled to stop water wastage.Economic Conditions Of AfricaThe economy of most of Africa can be termed as underdeveloped except South Africa, with its economically developed capital of Cape Town and a few countries in North Africa. As a whole though, the continent has abundant resources.The economy of Africa is predominantly agricultural, with 60% of people involved in the farming sector.In the 20th century, Africa faced considerable economic development, which came with a series of benefits as well as problems.Transportation and communication were improved during this time.Wage labor was also introduced during colonial rule in the first half of the 20th century.The resources developed greatly, but fluctuations in their prices made their economy vulnerable and fragile.The sub-Saharan countries that were prone to drought suffered the most.Industrial development continued for two decades between 1960-80 in Africa following their political freedom.In no time, Africa was plagued with excess industrial capacity with the burden of foreign loans that were required to create the capacity.The poor economic condition of Africa is due to the rapid population growth in most of the countries, along with historical exploitation.This has kept the Gross Domestic Product low for Africa; in some cases, the GDP was also seen to decline.Many have stated that economic growth in Africa depends mainly on two factors.States should reorganize themselves as economic blocs to create a link of internal markets.The population of individual countries can also be controlled, giving their economies a chance to grow.The diverse continent offering a huge number of resources has the potential to eradicate poverty from the countries and yield inclusive growth.According to the experts, Africa needs to improve its water condition at first to create a sustainable economy.Poor economies fail to develop due to water stress, a condition that affects the economic, social, and environmental well-being of a place.Economic instability slows down the processes to overcome the problems of water stress.By facilitating the amount of investment in hydropower and irrigation, water stress can be controlled.Droughts reduced the GDP of Africa considerably; these GDP fluctuations can be stopped by creating water storage.Sub-Saharan countries are prone to long-term droughts. They are also, unfortunately, some of the poorest countries in the world.Therefore, the role of water stress in hindering the economic development of a country is clear, and it does not only persist in rural areas; many urban areas are also affected by this.Food Supplies In AfricaThe hunger-stricken countries of Africa often face famines, making African people chronically malnourished. This prevails mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture is the main source of food production.Agriculture is a significant contributor to the food supply of Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa.Significant people are also engaged in the sector, and most farmers are smallholders.Food supply and security should be one of the most important agendas of any developing nation.For attaining food supply, especially in an agro-based economy, water should be supplied adequately.To supply timely food to a fast-growing population, thoughtful decisions are required regarding managing water resources.Even though the whole world is fighting for the betterment of food security, the same cannot be said about sub-Saharan countries.Africa has some of the poorest countries in the world, having the lowest GDPs.Sub-Saharan Africa does not have access to supply of sufficient quantity and quality food.The lower food supply obstructs the proper growth and health of the people of sub-Saharan Africa.These parts of Africa are also classified as food insecure because of their limited access to safe food supplies.Scarcity of water and scanty rainfall hampers Africa’s efforts to ensure the supply of sufficient food.The backbone of food supply, agriculture is also adjusting to the decreasing freshwater spaces of Africa.About 40% of the irrigated land in the driest positions of Africa is unsustainable. Crops cannot be grown in these parts.Decreasing availability of water has resulted in the emergence of a new type of diet.This type of diet is sensitive to persistent water level fluctuation.Water requirements vary widely depending on the quality, quantity, and type of food supplied.Some countries of Africa have started spreading awareness to protect national water to ensure food security.Other countries have diverted their focus to growing water-efficient crops to meet hunger.Apart from agriculture, water also has a significant role in food processing, preparation, and transformation processes.These tasks require less water quantity, but the quality should be high so that it does not pose any threat.Food-borne diseases are common in Africa since poor quality water is used.

A water crisis is an important issue that cannot be ignored anymore.