Why only a quarter of the inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have access to drinking water at home*?
Well, it’s not easy…
First, there is not enough money available to invest in infrastructure: there is more and more, but still not enough, because the needs are enormous. Only 12% of SSA countries report having at least 75% of the means to finance their investment program in cities**.
But that’s not all. There is also a lack of human resources to carry out projects: only 10% of SSA countries report having at least 75% of the human resources necessary to implement their investment program in urban areas**.
And, on the ground, we also often observe the too weak governance of the sector. If the term governance brings together many notions, what is obvious are:
- Lack of investment planning: investment programs (¾ of SSA countries report having such a program) are not always deemed satisfactory according to donor criteria. How else can we explain that the SSA countries that have investment programs are those that have fewer financial resources to finance them, compared to those that do not? And yes: 50% of the countries claiming to have insufficient planning declare obtaining on average between 50% and 75% of the funds necessary to invest!
- More generally, the lack of political will to make this sector a top priority. Ms Azoulay, now DG of UNESCO, stressed in 2019 that progress can be made “provided there is a collective will to move forward and efforts are made to include those who are ‘left behind’ in the decision-making process”.
Before money and men, there is political will. And when we know that more than half of the world’s population growth expected by 2050 will take place in Africa, it will take a lot of political will…
Illustration taken from the “United Nations World Water Development Report”, UN, 2019
* United Nations World Water Development Report, 2019
** WASH, 2020
