Africa

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Africa Water
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Geography Water
Victoria Falls

• The Nile is one of the two longest rivers on
  Earth
• Lake Victoria is 2nd largest fresh-water lake,
  Victoria Falls one of most spectacular waterfalls
• Lake Tanganyika in central Africa is estimated
  to be the 2nd oldest (and 2nd deepest) lake in
  the world
• Africa has about 40 percent of the worlds
  hydroelectric potential, but only a small
  proportion has been developed

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Geography Water Systems
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Basins
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Millennium Development Goals
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The Eight Millennium Development Goals

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• 2. Achieve universal primary education
• 3. Promote gender equality and empower women
• 4. Reduce child mortality
• 5. Improve maternal health
• 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• 7. Ensure environmental sustainability
• 8. Develop a global partnership for development

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Significant progress has been made in achieving
many of the goals, but progress is not uniform
across world. Sub-Saharan Africa is
epicenter of crisis its the only region not on
track to achieve any of the goals.
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7. Ensure environmental sustainability Water

• TARGETS
• By 2015, HALVE the proportion of people without
  sustainable access to safe drinking water and
  adequate sanitation
• STOP unsustainable exploitation of water
  resources by developing water management
  strategies and local, regional, and national
  levels which promote both equitable access and
  adequate supplies.

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STATISTICS

• 2.6 billion (globally) lack access to basic
  sanitation.

• 1.1 billion people (globally) lack access to safe
  water.

• The UN estimates that by 2025, about 1 in 2
  Africans will be living in countries that are
  confronted with water stress or water scarcity.

• In Africa, water scarcity afflicts 300 million
  people and claims at least 6,000 lives a year.

Data Source UN Millennium Project Task Force on
Water and Sanitation, Final Report, Abridged
Edition Health, Dignity, and Development What
Will It Take?, 2005.
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Every year millions of people, most of them
children, die from diseases associated with
inadequate water supply, sanitation, and
hygiene. Every day some 3,900 children die
because of dirty water or poor hygiene. Diseases
transmitted through water or human excrement are
the second-leading cause of death among children
worldwide.
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Access to Improved drinking water by region, 2002
Table from UN Millennium Project Task Force on
Water and Sanitation, Final Report, Abridged
Edition Health, Dignity, and Development What
Will It Take?, 2005.
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Access to Improved sanitation by region, 2002
Table from UN Millennium Project Task Force on
Water and Sanitation, Final Report, Abridged
Edition Health, Dignity, and Development What
Will It Take?, 2005.
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The UN places a high priority on water resources
management, water supply and sanitation for the
poor.
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Why Expanding access to water and sanitation is
a moral and ethical imperative rooted in the
cultural and religious traditions of societies
around the world. Virtually all of the worlds
spiritual and cultural systems embody values and
imperatives recognizing human dignity, equity,
compassion, and solidarity. Example Africa
Ubuntu
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Inadequate water supplies are both cause and an
effect of poverty
Lack of Water
Poverty
Effects of inadequate water - dehydration,
disease, time energy expended in water
collection, high unit costs, and more - further
exacerbate the poverty trap
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BENEFITS of Achieving Goal 7
Achieving the global MDG target on water and
sanitation would bring substantial economic
gains

• each 1 invested would yield an economic return
  of between 3 and 34, depending on the region
• health-related costs avoided 7.3 billion/year
• the annual global value of adult working days
  gained because of less illness 750 million
• time savings (resulting from the relocation of a
  well or borehole to a site closer to user
  communities, the installation of piped water
  supply in houses, and latrines closer to home)
  64 billion

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YOUTH
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Challenges that many youth face

• Not engaged or allowed to be engaged in national
  policy-making
• Disillusioned with politics and policy-making
• APATHETIC not as involved as they should or
  could be.
• Unempowered

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Importance of Youth

• One young person can change the world full of
  ideas, energy, and optimism.
• Young people have the right to participate fully
  in society and to express their opinions about
  matters related to their lives.
• Participation by young people is an investment
  in a countrys future and the decisions/actions
  today affect their tomorrow.
• They can hold governments accountable for
  current policies and promises that have
  implications for the future (such as natl aid
  commitments for the MDGs).

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Key pillars of youth involvement
PARTNERSHIPS
ADVOCACY
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• PARTNERSHIPS
• (Grassroots work)
• Initiate/engage in social and environmental micro
  water projects
• Educating others about water-related
  projects/issues
• Communicate with advocates and policy-makers on
  practical strategies

• ADVOCACY
• Build awareness on water issues via formal and
  informal channels using Media and Technology
• Aid in policy-making
• Challenge government leaders on water and
  sanitation commitments

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Young people face so many difficult decisions to
make in life today and they have the most
vital role to play in helping shape the future.
-- Nelson Mandela