Ignoring another inconvenient truth? Challenges in managing Africa’s water crisis “Among the many things I learnt as a president was the centrality of water in the social, poli- tical and economic affairs of the country, the continent and the world.” (Nelson Mandela) Water is a basic need and an important catalyst for accelerating socio-economic development in semi-arid areas. Good management of water re- sources is a pre-requisite for rural development. During the First African Water Week, held in Tunis in March 2008, the African Development Bank, the New Partnership for Africa’s Develop- ment (NEPAD) and the World Bank called for an increase in funding and a renewed focus on agricultural water management in Africa, includ- ing irrigation, drainage and rainwater harvesting. Growth in the agricultural sector is considered vital to poverty reduction and achieving the Mil- lennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The Initiative called for knowledge sharing to improve and expand the availability of water. By adopting the MDGs, the world pledged to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015. With the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa, the world is reportedly well on its way to meeting this target. With only 64% of the population having accessto improved water supplies, Africa has the low-est proportional coverage of any region of theworld. The situation is much worse in the ruralareas where coverage is only 50%, comparedto 86% in urban areas. By 2025, at least 48countries are expected to be facing watershortages. No fewer than 22 of these are inSub-Saharan Africa, which means that ap-proximately 2.8 billion people (35% of the pro-jected world population) will be living either inwater-scarce areas (less than 1,000 cubic me-tres/cap/yr) or in water-stressed areas (be-tween 1,000-1,700 cm/cap/yr). It is recognized that the achievement of each of the MDGs hinges on the availability of safe wa- ter. However one person in six – more than 1 billion people – still has little choice but to use potentially dangerous sources of water. And be- yond the focus of public attention, an unseen emergency is continuing to unfold due to com- petition over access to water. There is a water crisis and, more than anywhere else, Africa is facing a growing scarcity of water. Access to clean water (and sanitation) has been ear- marked as the most crucial resource for life and a vital productive asset in agriculture and indus- try. At the same time, water is thought to be a potential trigger for future wars (some claim it already is) as well as a reason for countries and groups to come together and prevent conflicts. “Of all the social and natural crises we humans face, the water crisis is the one that lies at the heart of our survival and that of our planet Earth.”(UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura) This ASC Info sheet addresses the call for knowledge sharing by providing the results of some twenty-five years of experience in provid- ing water in semi-arid Kenya. Kajiado District, Kenya(Since 2007 split into Kajiado and Loitokitok districts)
