Water supply and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa did not meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 1990–2015) of halving the share of the population without access to safe drinking water and sanitation between 1990 and 2015.

Groundwater plays a key role in sustaining water supplies and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa especially due to its widespread availability, generally high quality, and intrinsic ability to buffer episodes of drought and increasing climate variability.

[6] World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2015 reported that about 159 million people fetched untreated surface water from lakes, ponds, rivers and streams globally.

For example, in a study conducted in Nigeria major pollutants were found within the surrounding water including agrochemical runoff, urban waste, and industrial effluents.

[7] In another case study conducted in Madagascar, Uganda, and Rwanda, researchers found that there were key contaminants polluting the bodies of water across all regions.

[10] Climate change as well as socio-economic drivers are also expected to intensify water scarcity in Southern Africa as increasing temperatures and variable rainfall lead to reduced streamflows in rivers across the region.

[11] Climate change is also likely to result in increased hydrological extremes, such as droughts which are expected to last longer and happen more often in Southern Africa, placing considerable stress on water supply.

[20][18] Current climate models (as summarised in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report) predict increases in frequency and intensity of drought and heavy rainfall events.

Sub-Saharan Africa did not meet the Millennium Development Goals of halving the share of the population without access to safe drinking water and sanitation between 1990 and 2015.

[2] These trends in water supply and sanitation are directly reflected in health: the under-five child mortality had significantly decreased worldwide, but Sub-Saharan Africa showed the slowest pace of progress.

Additionally, limited access to water and cooking fuel was linked to lower academic performance, with the study noting an impact on test scores in subjects such as mathematics and English.

Since the 1990s almost all African countries have been decentralising their political powers from the centre towards local authorities: in Mali it started in 1993, in Ethiopia in 1995, in Rwanda in 2002, in Burkina Faso in 2004, ...

[39][40][41] Besides Senegal, private operators still have a role in South Africa (four utilities), Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Mozambique, Niger and Uganda (in small towns).

[35] In Uganda and Burkina Faso public national utilities were strengthened through short-term public-private partnerships in the form of performance-based service contracts.

The share of unconnected urban households fluctuates from over 80% in poor countries like Uganda, Mozambique, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Madagascar, to 21% in Namibia and 12% in South Africa.

Rapid urbanization and demographic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa have exacerbated challenges in providing piped water access, particularly in peri-urban and slum areas.

Various central governments have created a national social fund (supported by donors) from which the municipalities can draw money to finance rural water supply and sanitation infrastructure.

Studies by the World Bank and others suggest the need for more attention to private sector operation of all types of rural water supplies.

The urban utilities deliver continuous services in Burkina Faso, Senegal and South Africa, but are highly intermittent in Ethiopia and Zambia.

Low income households in sub-Saharn Africa are significantly impacted by quality of service because they have limited access to clean water sources.

Since the poorest social groups are less connected to water networks and sewerage, they need to turn to alternatives, and they pay in some cases a multiple of the formal tariff.

In sub-Saharan Africa, current spending on water supply and sanitation (investments, operation and maintenance) totals to $7.6 billion per year, or 1.19% of the regional GDP.

According to the World Bank, total expenditures are less than half of what would be required to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in sub-Saharan Africa; that would need more than $16.5 billion per year or 2.6% of the regional GDP.

[35] The African Development Bank estimates that $12 billion is required annually to cover Africa's needs in improved water supply and sanitation.

In the 2001-2005 period official development assistance financed 71% of investments in Benin, 68% in Tanzania, 63% in Kenya, 43% in the DR of Congo, 34% in South Africa, 13% in Nigeria and less than 1% in Côte d'Ivoire or Botswana.

[59] According to another World Bank study of 5 countries, in the 2002-2008 period official development assistance financed on average 62% of public expenditures on water and sanitation.

This foreign aid covered 21% of all expenditures in water supply and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa, and was principally directed to investments in infrastructure.

[35] The largest donors to water supply and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa are the World Bank, the EU institutions, the African Development Fund, and bilateral assistance from Germany and the Netherlands.

The United States, although they are the largest donor in Sub-Saharan Africa in absolute numbers, play a marginal role in the water supply and sanitation sector.

Especially in the poorer countries the presence of many different donors and Western NGOs puts a strain on the coherence of national strategies, such as in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.