This is the 2nd post in a blog series to be published in 2023 by the Secretariat on behalf of the AU High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) and the Calestous Juma Executive Dialogues (CJED)

African lives, livelihoods, and development are partly dependent on the provision of clean water as aspired by the African Union Agenda 2063 Goal Number 7. Africa is thriving for environmental sustainability and climate-resilient socio-economic development and growth. As a result, prioritising affordable, safe, and clean drinking water for African citizens is essential.[1] Furthermore, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN-SDG) Number 6 promotes equitable access to clean and safe drinking water as a foundation of health and development for the global community.[2] The continent has abundant water sources such as lakes, rivers, and groundwater. However, some of these sources and the distribution of water to various communities tend to be contaminated, thereby posing a threat to local communities. There is a need, therefore, to treat the water in a safe and cost-effective manner for the benefit of communities.

According to the UN, the African population has expanded from 800 million to approximately 1.2 billion people between 2000 and 2020. Of the 1.2 billion people, approximately 500 million people have access to basic sanitation facilities, and only 290 million have access to clean drinking water. Furthermore, approximately 418 million people do not have access to the most basic level of drinking water services, and approximately 779 million do not have access to basic sanitation. The latter includes about 208 million who are still defecating in the open and about 839 million people that do not have access to basic hygiene services.[3]

Furthermore, within African countries, there still exist substantial disparities between the rich and poor, in urban and rural areas, and across sub-national regions. For example, in some urban areas, half of the population has limited access to basic hygiene services. Two out of five people have limited access to securely managed drinking water, sanitation, or both. In contrast, the rural areas are observing three out of four people with limited access to safe sanitation, and four out of five people have limited access to regulated drinking water. Additionally, seven out of ten people have limited access to basic hygiene services. Similarly, data from 35 sub-Saharan African countries (covering 84% of Africa’s population) demonstrates considerable differences between the poorest and richest fifths in both rural and urban settings. Over 60% of urban residents in the richest quintile utilise pipe-borne water, and 90% use improved water sources. The poorest 40% of rural families have no pipe-borne water, and less than half use improved water sources (see figure 1 below).[4]

Figure 1: Drinking water coverage by wealth quintiles, urban and rural residence, sub-Saharan Africa, based on population-weight averages from 35 countries (percentage)

South Sudan is one of the African countries that is facing shortages of safe and clean drinking water. This is because the country lacks adequate water treatment, management, and distribution infrastructure. There are also a few water sources, and these are frequently serving as flashpoints for disputes over short supply. Notably, only 10% of the population of South Sudan has access to well-managed basic sanitation services. As a result, water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid, amebiasis, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, giardiasis, campylobacteriosis, scabies, and worm infections are causing sicknesses and death, especially among children.[5]

The recurring civil wars in South Sudan have also halted institutional growth, particularly in water management and distribution. This is resulting in ineffective water management systems and institutions. Furthermore, the planning, monitoring, and management of water systems are also negatively impacted by the limitations on human and financial resources. Local water security challenges are a result of these governance problems and the prevalence of poverty. In addition, surface and groundwater quality issues have been exacerbated by oil exploitation in the central floodplains of Jonglei, Lakes, and the Upper Nile, leading to leaks and spills and contamination of surface water. Groundwater has become more salinized and exhibiting higher concentrations of heavy metals due to the seepage from oil fields. Most importantly, the lack of electricity to pump water to rural areas is also a significant obstacle for these communities.

Notably, South Sudan's plentiful water supplies are largely contaminated and of low quality. As such, a total of 3,936 m3 of yearly renewable water resources are available per person. The entire amount of freshwater makes up to 4.23% of South Sudan's total resource endowment. This is considerably less than the benchmarked 25% water stress and significantly less than the average of 5.7% in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, extreme flooding and water shortages during the dry seasons are also due to the uneven distribution of water resources across the country. There are also significant inter-seasonal variabilities in South Sudan that are substantively dependent on surface water supplies sourced from neighbouring countries.

South Sudan has the potential to provide clean water because of the abundance of fertile land and over 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. As a result, some villages are implementing solar-powered water pumps. These climate-smart solutions are assisting residents who have limited access to water. Solar energy enables some communities to access environmentally friendly clean water and easily manage solar-powered water systems with clean water being delivered to places where the national electricity grid cannot reach.[6] The employment of solar water pumps is gradually replacing the conventional pump systems that are using environmentally unfriendly diesel engines.

The government is also in a campaign of installing solar-powered water systems to benefit rural communities. For example, the Yambio project is providing access to clean water for health centres, schools, and homes, especially during dry periods. This is significantly benefiting Yambio’s communities because the solar water systems are bringing clean water sources closer to home. This also involves providing schools with clean water for provide sanitation purposes.[7]

Additionally, the Akuach Water Yard project is another example in South Sudan that is supplying clean water to about 15,000 people. This project has a large water tank, a deep borehole, and a generator that utilises solar energy to make up the water yard. At first, the water yard was utilised to operate on diesel generators to draw water from the borehole. However, due to the rising prices of diesel fuel, it became expensive to operate generator-based water systems. The surrounding communities had limited resources to finance such operations of the borehole. But the solar-based water system is enabling these communities to generate clean water from groundwater systems.[8]

Figure 2: A picture of the Akuach water yard [9]

Evidently, the continent has ample and reliable solar energy to provide reliable energy to local communities. The African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) thereby encourages African countries to adopt easy-to-use technologies such as solar-based water management systems.  Furthermore, APET recommends that solar energy be complemented by other green energy sources such as hydro power to ensure a consistent power supply for energy-stressed African countries.

APET is cognizant of the fact that water solar systems are expensive to install and operationalise. As a result, solar-powered technologies become expensive for most Africans. To address this challenge, the Panel encourages African countries to employ innovative financing schemes such as fee-for-service arrangements. This can help Africans install sufficient solar panels to power multiple water schemes in a timely and effectively manner. African governments should also remove trade barriers such as high import duties that can lead to affordable solar technologies.

In conclusion, it is recommended that African countries invest in climate-resilient green technologies such as solar water pumps. This approach will have substantive positive effects on socio-economic growth to strengthen job creation and reduce poverty. African governments should, therefore, actively invest in solar water technology development to create infrastructure systems that safeguard residents in a safe and cost-effective manner. 

 

Featured Bloggers – APET Secretariat

Justina Dugbazah

Barbara Glover

Bhekani Mbuli

Chifundo Kungade

Nhlawulo Shikwambane

 

[1] https://au.int/en/agenda2063/goals.

[2] https://www.globalgoals.org/goals/6-clean-water-and-sanitation/?gclid=CjwKCAiAv9ucBhBXEiwA6N8nYEusYxCwaGkRsssXF0VO4cIrGNjOK4xFH3kTgAaB1cj4KtUe0jt_5xoC1hkQAvD_BwE.

[3] https://www.unicef.org/senegal/en/press-releases/africa-drastically-accelerate-progress-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-report#:~:text=On%20the%20continent%2C%20however%2C%20418,still%20lack%20basic%20hygiene%20services.

[4] https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/africa.shtml

[5] https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/february-2021/south-sudan-improving-access-clean-water-communities#:~:text=to%20rural%20homes-,In%20South%20Sudan%2C%20only%2010%25%20of%20the%20population%20has%20access,among%20children%20in%20the%20country.

[6] https://www.unicef.org/stories/south-sudan-grid-communities-turn-solar-power-clean-water.

[7] https://www.unicef.org/stories/south-sudan-grid-communities-turn-solar-power-clean-water.

[8] https://www.icrc.org/en/document/south-sudan-using-solar-power-bring-water-15000-people#:~:text=The%20ICRC%20has%20renovated%20the,German%20development%20agency%2C%20in%202012.

[9] https://avarchives.icrc.org/Picture/138389