How Bad is Africa’s Water Problem?

How Bad is Africa’s Water Problem?

It’s one thing to say there’s no water in Africa, but it’s another thing entirely to see the numbers and statistics that prove it. Before you dive into learning about the reasons behind the crisis going on with Africa’s water supply, take a moment to familiarize yourself with just how serious this problem really is. You might be shocked at some of the information you discover and some of the facts you read as you know more about just what’s going on in this critical situation.

• Around the world, 783 million people live every day without regular, dedicated access to improved water sources. Improved water in this situation means safe, clean drinking water that has been at least minimally treated to remove contaminants and pollutants. It doesn’t necessarily mean purified water.

• Of these people, 319 million of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is the area of greatest concern on the continent. This part of Africa hosts the most critical rural communities that desperately need access to clean drinking water.

• 102 million people living in Sub-Saharan Africa rely solely on surface water to supply all the water they use for drinking, cooking, washing, and living. They have no way to access groundwater.

• 80% of the illnesses in developing countries around the world can be traced back to waterborne illnesses or a lack of improved sanitation conditions as a result of the inability to access regular clean water. Cholera is one of the most common of these illnesses in Africa, with typhoid, Dengue fever, and hepatitis on the list as well.

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, 695 million people live every day without access to improved sanitation. This means there’s no way for them to remove human and animal waste from their communities or from their water sources, and there’s nowhere for them to throw garbage and solid wastes. Many people don’t even have access to soap with which to wash their hands.

• There are very few toilets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Only around one in three people have regular access to toilets, with the rest having to urinate and defecate in out of the way places on the ground.

• Around the world, agriculture is the primary means of survival for 84% of people living without access to improved water conditions. This is equally true across Africa, where agriculture puts a huge strain on the water supply while simultaneously causing it to be even more polluted than it ordinarily would be.

• In infants and children under the age of five, one in five deaths worldwide can be traced back to diarrhea or dehydration as a result of a waterborne illness. The elderly are also more seriously affected by these types of illnesses.