Clean water for Africa - but not until 2030

Yesterday, on the 20th anniversary of World Water Day, WaterAid called on international leaders to support an ambitious target of providing access to water, sanitation and hygiene for all Africans by 2030.

The call comes as over 50,000 people took part in more than 30 mass walking events across Africa to call on their governments to keep their promises on access to clean water and safe sanitation.

Writing in a new report published by WaterAid yesterday, President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia said:“Addressing the global water and sanitation crisis is not about charity, but opportunity”.

“According to the World Health Organisation, every $1 invested in water and sanitation produces an average of $4 in increased productivity. It enables sustainable and equitable economic growth.

"In short, it will not be possible to make progress in eradicating poverty, reducing inequality and securing sustainable economic development in the future without improving access,” she stated.

WaterAid’s report, ‘Everyone Everywhere’ launched Friday(1) by President Johnson Sirleaf at a UN event on water in the Hague, Netherlands, sets out a vision for making safe water and sanitation available to all and reviews the progress that has been made to date in tackling water and sanitation poverty.

The report finds that lack of progress in improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene is acting as a brake on progress in economic and human development particularly in child health, nutrition and education. WaterAid cites World Health Organisation figures that show the economic gains that Africa could make through everyone on the continent having access to water and sanitation.

Africa could gain $33 billion every year from everyone having access to water and sanitation. Of this $4.5 billion would come from reduced healthcare costs; $7.2 billion could be gained from reduced mortality; $2 billion from less time taken off from work; and a staggering $19.5 billion in general time saved(2).

The benefits for Africa in lives saved from everyone having access to water and sanitation on the continent are also significant. It is estimated by the Institute of Health Metrics that around 550,000 people die of diarrhoea diseases every year in Sub-Saharan Africa(3), 88% of whom, according to the World Health Organisation, can be attributed to a lack of water, sanitation and hygiene(4) that equates to 480,000 deaths due to a lack of these services on the continent.

Nelson Gomonda, WaterAid Pan-Africa Programme Manager said: “Nothing could better demonstrate that our continent has truly begun to realise its potential and is coming true on its promise of progress and development, than achieving the fundamental goal of every African having safe drinking water.”

“330 million Africans today live without access to clean water, so the road to travel is long, but we can for the first time see the end in sight. With more than 1,000 African children under the age of five dying every day from diseases brought about from a lack of water and sanitation, Africans will not accept failure. We have to reach this target.”

“More than 50,000 Africans are taking part in walks to show that that these services are a priority that we want and need. Africans understand how a lack of water and sanitation affects their health, economic productivity, their children’s education, women’s rights – across every spectrum of development, water and sanitation plays its part. This is why progress on these basic services will have such important consequences for our continent and people.”

Currently in Sub-Sahara Africa, 334 million people (39% of the population) lack access to clean drinking water, while under 600 million (70%) lack access to sanitation(5).