EcoWorldly

Over one billion people - 18% of the world’s population - lack access to safe drinking water worldwide. Only 56% of Africa’s 800 million population have access to clean water. About 700 million people in 43 countries are affected by water scarcity, according to the UN.

In another few years - in 2025 to be precise - the number could swell to 3 billion driving back gains in the fight against poverty and under-development, otherwise known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

For many people around the world, safe drinking water is a scarce resource and out of necessity, they resort to what’s available - polluted water.

But contaminated water isn’t just dirty—it’s deadly. Some 1.8 million people die every year of diseases like cholera, caused by poor sanitation. Tens of millions of others are seriously sickened by a host of water-related ailments—many of which are easily preventable.

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A child dies of a water-related illness every 15 seconds. This translates to 2 million children dying each year due to a lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation, a situation that can be changed by just providing access to clean water and sanitation. If this was done, it would reduce the risk of a child dying by as much as 50%.

Africa is one continent caught squarely in the middle of potential conflicts over this precious commodity among other scarce resources. Africa has two of the world’s longest rivers - the 6,400-kilometer Nile River and the 4,370-kilometer Congo River, but it suffers from a perennial shortage amidst potentially plentiful supplies. It also has 21 of the world’s most arid countries, in terms of water per person.

Water scarcity is defined as less than 1,000 m3 of water available per person per year, while water stress means less than 1,500 m3 of water available per person per year.

According to a 1999 UN Development Program report, the possible African ‘water wars’ flash points are the Nile, Niger, Volta and Zambezi basins. The report says that by 2025, another 12 African countries will join the 13 that already suffer from water stress or water scarcity.

Yet UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, admits that the state of the world’s waters remained fragile, with the need for an integrated and sustainable approach to water resource management pressing as ever.

Millions of people are threatened by poor, unreliable, or non-existent water resources. In 2008, the International Year of Sanitation, it is estimated that 2.16 billion people in developing countries lack that most basic of amenities - a proper toilet.

They do not have water conveniently pumped in and out of their homes for use in flush toilets. Many have no choice but to practice ‘bush defecation’, relieving themselves in ditches, behind the house, down the road, or at any other ‘convenient’ location.

This has resulted in widespread damage to human health and child survival prospects; social misery especially for women, the elderly and infirm; depressed economic productivity and human development; pollution to the living environment and water resources.

Are the above enough justification to ‘go to war’ for water? Experts are divided over potential water wars in areas where rivers and lakes are shared by more than one country.

Anthony Turton of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, says: “There is no evidence that there will be water wars in Africa. The only region where water has led to conflict is the Middle East, but this certainly cannot be applied to the rest of the world”.

Image credit: Angela7Dreams at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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