190 million African children at risk due to global water-related crises

Africa has been facing an unprecedented catastrophe due to the water crisis and an estimated 190 million African children are at risk due to the same. According to a new analysis from the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, the water scarcity has significantly escalated. UNICEF Director of Programmes Sanjay Wijesekera warned at a conference on Saturday that climate and water-related shocks have been worsening globally, and "nowhere else in the world do the risks compound as severely for children".

The United Nations in March 2023 also held its first Water Conference in over 45 years, and the agency rang the alarm about countries not being on the track to meeting the water goals by the end of the decade. The UN underscored that climate change and water scarcity have made the situation worse worldwide, especially for young children across Africa.. 

“Devastating storms, floods, and historic droughts are already destroying facilities and homes, contaminating water resources, creating hunger crises, and spreading disease. But as challenging as the current conditions are, without urgent action, the future could be much more bleak," Wijesekera said. 

Threat related to water is acute: UN 

UNICEF's analysis came ahead of the UN Water Conference, where the agency reviewed household access to WASH services, the burden of WASH-attributable deaths among children under five, as well as the exposure of children to climate and environmental-related hazards. Children face the biggest threat from these crises, the UN noted, adding that the investment is the solution and is desperately needed to prevent unnecessary deaths.

According to the analysis, the threat related to water was acute in Africa's Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia. West and Central Africa are one of the world's most water-insecure and climate-impacted regions, UNICEF noted. In countries like the Sahel which have been witnessing instability and armed conflicts, children’s access to clean water and sanitation has been further aggravated.

"Nearly one-third of children do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-thirds do not have basic sanitation services," the analysis read. "A quarter of children have no choice but to practise open defecation. Hand hygiene is also limited, with three-quarters of children unable to wash their hands because of a lack of water and soap at home," it added.

African countries carry the heaviest burden of child deaths from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, said UNICEF. This could trigger diarrhoeal diseases.

"Six of the 10 have faced cholera outbreaks over the past year. Globally, more than 1,000 children under five die every day from WASH-related diseases, with around two out of five concentrated in these 10 countries alone," according to UNICEF's analysis.