Causes and Impact of water scarcity in Africa

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As shown in the previous blog through the water scarcity index, water scarcity is a big challenge in Africa.  Water scarcity affects more than 748 million people worldwide; Sub-Saharan Africa has been the most affected. One of the major poverty causes in Africa has been the lack of basic resources such as clean, safe and properly sanitized water. Destruction of river catchments and increased pollution has contributed to water crisis in Africa.

Some of the causes of water scarcity in Africa have been discussed below;

Climatic Change; There has been climatic  climate change in Africa which has led to a change in rainfall patterns leading to worse water security, changed rainfall patterns affecting agriculture and reducing food security and generally rising water stress. The growing population has really worsened the water crisis in Africa placing more pressure on the available water resources. 41% of the global population today live in river basins that are experiencing water stress raising concerns as many countries have reached the limit at which sustainable water delivery can be done.

Physical scarcity; Water scarcity is as a result of human and natural causes. Physical scarcity occurs when there insufficient water within a certain region. Different regions receive different levels of rainfall with some areas receiving very low levels especially in the arid and semi-arid areas leading to physical scarcity (Declan et al, 2008).

 Economic scarcity; this occurs when there are not enough resources to distribute the available water which has been the biggest reason for scarcity in Africa due to the high poverty levels. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in 2006 estimated that out of 800million living in Africa, 300million experience water scarcity.

Poor governance and corruption; most African countries are rated top when it comes to corruption. In Africa, corruption dirties the water (Odiwuor, 2013) Through large scale farmers diverting water resources for selfish gain, failure to implement water resources protection laws, unscrupulous vendors and misuse of funds are some of the reasons why a large number of Africans have no access to clean and safe drinking water (Mijumbi, 2011)

Overexploitation of natural resources; overexploitation of natural resources has led to the shrinking of many African lakes and drying of rivers which is a result of limited water supply in comparison to demand.

Impacts of water scarcity in Africa

Conflict; with the high population growth in Africa and the limited water resources, conflicts have risen. Previously, countries through negotiations have worked to ease water tensions but the aggression over water accessibility is predicted to be on the rise.

Malnutrition; Agriculture heavily relies on water availability. The scarcity of water therefore translates to lack of enough food production leading to malnourishment. Malnutrition has been linked to 1/3 of children deaths and mostly affects children and women.


Figure 4: Number of Undernourished People in Sub Saharan Africa in Millions

Source: (UN,2012)

Poverty; water is one of the most basic necessities and lack of it leads to economic crisis, slowed-down education, poor health and social crisis. Water scarcity therefore is one of the leading causes of poverty since it affects the overall productive potential of a community, region or country.

Reduced productivity and development for women and children; In the African setting, the traditional gender labor roles still exists and water scarcity means that women spend a lot of time and energy walking for miles in order to fetch water as shown in figure 3. They therefore spend less time doing generating income and doing self-development projects.



Figure 5: A Kenyan Woman Carrying Fetched Water

Source: (Odiwuor, 2013)

 Poor health and high mortality rate; Water scarcity has led to many people storing in their homes for long which leads to acceleration of the risk of contamination and malaria due to breeding mosquitoes. Water-borne diseases such as cholera are one of the leading causes of death in Africa especially among children. Water scarcity has therefore led to overall poor health in Africa.


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