Water in Africa is an important issue encompassing the sources, distribution and economic uses of the

water resources Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slight ...

on the continent. Overall,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

has about 9% of the world's

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

resources and 16% of the world's population. CC BY-SA icon

Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
license. Among its rivers are the Congo, Nile, Zambezi, Niger and

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

, considered the world’s second largest lake. Yet the continent is the second driest in the world, with millions of Africans still suffering from water shortages throughout the year. Bottle of LIFE

These shortages are attributed to problems of uneven distribution, population boom and poor management of existing supplies. Sometimes there are smaller numbers of people residing where there is large amount of water. For example, 30 percent of the continent's water lies in the

Congo basin The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...

inhabited by only 10 percent of Africa’s population. There is significant variation in the rainfall patterns observed in different places and time. There is also high evaporation rates in some parts of the region resulting in lower percentages of precipitation in such places. However, there is very significant inter-and intra-annual variability of all

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

and

characteristics, so while some regions have sufficient water,

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

faces numerous water-related challenges that constrain

economic growth Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...

and threaten the livelihoods of its people.

African agriculture The economy of Africa consists of the trade, industry, agriculture, and human resources of the continent. , approximately 1.3 billion people were living in 54 countries in Africa. Africa is a resource-rich continent. Recent growth has been du ...

is mostly based on

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

-fed farming, and less than 10% of cultivated land in the continent is

irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

. The impact of climate change and variability is thus very pronounced. The main source of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

, which contributes significantly to the current installed capacity for energy. The

Kainji Dam Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. Construction of the dam was carried out by Impregilo (a consortium of Italian Civil Engineering Contractors) to designs by Joint Consultants, Balfour Beatty and Nedeco, ...

is a typical hydropower resource generating electricity for all the large cities in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

as well as their neighbouring country,

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages Solutions to the challenges of water for

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

and

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

are hindered by shortcomings in water

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

, development, and management capacity to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population. This is compounded by the fact Africa has the fastest

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

rates in the world. Water development and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

are much more complex due to the multiplicity of trans-boundary water resources (

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s and

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

s). Around 75% of sub-Saharan Africa falls within 53 international

river basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...

catchments that traverse multiple borders. This particular constraint can also be converted into an opportunity if the potential for trans-boundary cooperation is harnessed in the development of the area’s water resources. A multi-sectoral analysis of the

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

, for example, shows that

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

cooperation could lead to a 23% increase in firm energy production without any additional investments. A number of institutional and legal frameworks for transboundary cooperation exist, such as the Zambezi River Authority, the

Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...

(SADC) Protocol,

Volta River Authority The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana. They are also the responsible for the maintenance of the hydro power supply plant. Establishment The VRA was established by the Volta River Development ...

and the Nile Basin Commission. However, additional efforts are required to further develop political will, as well as the financial capacities and institutional frameworks needed for win-win multilateral cooperative actions and optimal solutions for all riparians.

Sources of water

Ground water

Groundwater plays a key role in sustaining water supplies and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa especially due to its widespread availability, generally high quality, and intrinsic ability to buffer episodes of drought and increasing climate variability. Yet there is limited sources available to provide clean drinkable water in Africa, one of the research conducted in 2007 has shown that over 40% of Africans use groundwater as their main source of drinking water, particularly in North and Southern African countries. While the hydrogeological and climatic features of any given region dictate the availability and replenishment of groundwater, the future quantity and quality of groundwater depends to a large extent on the land use and management practices of the communities viii within an aquifer province Piped water is still the most important source of drinking water (39%) in urban areas, yet boreholes are becoming more important (24%). The WHO (2006) stated that, in 2004, only 16% of people in sub-Saharan Africa had access to drinking water through a household connection (an indoor tap or a tap in the yard). Even when there is available water in these places, there is poor access to readily accessible drinking water as there are risks of contamination due to several factors. Factors such as poor maintenance due to limited financial resources, pollution and poor sanitation sometimes due to limited financial resources. When wells are built and water sanitation facilities are developed, sometimes water quality testing is not performed as often as is necessary, and lack of education among the people utilizing the water source.

Surface water

World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2015 reported that about 159 million people fetched untreated surface water from lakes, ponds, rivers and streams globally. Surface water sources in Africa are sometimes highly polluted. Factors such as sewage discharges, oil pollution, industrial factors etc. For example, Niger Delta which is home to much of Nigeria’s oil industry of which about 2 million barrels of oil are extracted from the area daily, has contaminated water due to spills.

Water, jobs and the economy

Africa has recently undergone its best decade (2005-2015) for

since the post-

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

period. The growth, however, has neither been inclusive or equitable. According to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

growth in sub-Saharan Africa averaged 4.5% in 2014, up from 4.2% in 2013, supported by continuing

investment, increased

agricultural production Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and buoyant services.

’s population surpassed the 1 billion mark in 2010 and is projected to double by 2050. African countries with the largest population as of 2020

Demographically, it is expected to be the fastest growing region in the world with the growth varying, depending on sub-regions. Furthermore, the growth is skewed to the young and that component of the population that will need jobs is expected to increase rapidly and comprise 910 million out of the projected two billion total population by 2050. Most of the growth in workforce will be in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

(about 90%). Hence, the demand for jobs will be a major policy issue across the continent, which is already experiencing high unemployment and underemployment; moreover, the latter is driving both migration within the region and emigration towards

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and other regions. Job creation for this anticipated growth in population is set to be the major challenge for Africa’s structural economic and social transformation. It is estimated that in 2015, 19 million young people will be joining the sluggish job market in Sub-Saharan Africa and four million in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. The demand for jobs is expected to increase to 24.6 million annually in Sub-Saharan Africa and 4.3 million in North Africa by 2030, representing two thirds of global growth in demand for jobs. Youth unemployment has been the trigger for uprisings, notably in North Africa, and has led to social and security instability. The key water-dependent or related sectors with the potential for meeting part of the current and projected demand for jobs in Africa are social services, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture,

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

and

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

s exploitation (including

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

) and energy production (including

hydro Hydro from Ancient Greek word ὕδωρ (húdōr), meaning ''water''. Hydro may also refer to: Energy technologies * Water-derived power or energy: ** Hydropower, derived from water ** Hydroelectricity, in electrical form * "Hydro", AC mains ...

, geothermal and expected

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

for oil and natural gas). All these sectors depend to a varying extent on the availability of, access to, and reliability of water resources. Irresponsible water use by some sectors can create short-term employment, but result in negative impacts on the availability of water resources and jeopardize future jobs in other water-dependent sectors.

Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

water scarcity Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water Water resources, resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water ...

and variability have direct impact on the major sector outputs and thus ultimately on the overall economy of most African countries.

Challenges

Water scarcity

Impacts of climate change

Climate change is likely to have a significant impact on water resources, with the 5th Assessment Report of the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...

suggesting 7% of the total world population being affected by decreasing availability of renewable water sources with each degree of global warming. Climate change is expected to amplify existing stress on water availability in Africa, however this impact is likely to modest compared to driver such as population growth, urbanization, agricultural growth and land-sue change. While multiple factors will impact water availability in Africa, climate change will contribute to water shortages in North Africa and Southern Africa. In North Africa, climate change may account for 22% of total water shortage in the region. Climate change as well as socio-economic drivers are also expected to intensify water scarcity in Southern Africa as increasing temperatures and variable rainfall lead to reduced streamflows in rivers across the region. Climate change is also likely to result in increased hydrological extremes, such as droughts which are expected to last longer and happen more often in Southern Africa, placing considerable stress on water supply. In East Africa changes in water resources are uncertain, as climate models in the region predict either increases or decreases in total rainfall over the region. Increasing temperature may increase evaporation and lead to shrinking glaciers and ice cover, which may place strain on water resource. However future projects indicate an increase in the intensity of rainfall which is likely to result in increased streamflows in regions such as the

Lake Victoria Basin Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

. The issue of water scarcity was first raised in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.

Future developments

Water is crucial for success of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Africa. The above commodity remains essential in such was that it will plays a key role in achieving the SDG 1 which calls for an end to poverty in all its manifestations by 2030. For Africa to be able to meet the

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

and maintain the impressive growth rates of the last 10 years, the basic infrastructures of water, electricity and transportation are prerequisites. Without these basics, the African economies will lose the momentum of the last decade, which will lead to not only loss of direct water jobs, but also jobs in all the other sectors dependent on water. An illustrative example is the case of Ghana which is often cited as one of the best examples of economic recovery in Africa.

Jobs in water-dependent sectors

Currently, the most important water-dependent sector in Africa is agriculture, which forms the bedrock of most economies of African states. Both rain-fed and irrigated agriculture are important job-providing sectors in all African countries.

Agriculture

The role of agriculture as the main source of

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

is decreasing in many African countries as a sustained growth in many economies is leading to increasing standards of living, improved education and the occurrence of rapid rural-urban migration of educated youth in search of white collar jobs. However, for the foreseeable future agriculture will still be a major source of employment, especially in non-oil producing African states. There is a rising paradox of increasing unemployment in the rapidly urbanizing cities and towns of Africa: labour shortages in rural areas are leading to significant reduction in food production and increased dependence of many African countries on food imports. Based on

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

statistics, agriculture was the source of employment for 49% of Africans by 2010 and is a reflection of a gradual decline from 2002 to 2010, which coincides with the period of sustained GDP growth in most African countries. In spite of this decline, agriculture is expected to create eight million stable jobs by 2020 based on the trends from the McKinsey Global Institute analysis. If the continent accelerates agricultural development by expanding large scale commercial farming on uncultivated land and shifts production from low-value grain production to more labour-intensive and higher value-added horticultural and bio fuel crops (a good example is

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

), as many as six million additional jobs could be created continent-wide by 2020. However, such estimates do not take account of the potential displacement or disappearance of existing jobs. These would need to be carefully assessed in terms of social, economic and environmental impacts in the overall context of responsible agricultural investment.

Health

Improving Health in Africa is directly related to the use of an improved water source which contributes in reducing water-born diseases. ] According to the World Health Organization (WHO)'s strategy for 2018–2025, the inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene have caused 842,000 diarrhea deaths in 2012, and deaths from several other diseases especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cholera remains endemic in more than 47 countries, with an estimated 40–80 million people in Africa living in cholera hotspots. The

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action age ...

adopted by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

with regard to sustainable development the

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. Earth Su ...

(UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992 aims at assessing the consequences which people have on the environment to support measures aimed especially at controlling water borne diseases. According to the WHO report, contaminated water can not only transmit diseases such diarrhea but also cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio.

Fisheries

Commercial fishing fleet at rest at Hout Bay Harbour

The African fisheries and aquaculture sector employed 12.3 million people in 2014 and contributed US $24 billion or 1.26% of the GDP of all African countries, which improved food security and nutrition. About half of the workers in the sector were fishers and the rest were processors (mainly women) or aquaculturists. Fisheries and aquaculture contribution to GDP in Africa by sub-sector Employment by subsector

Manufacturing and industry

Many manufacturing industries in Africa are water-dependent. The share of jobs is lower than in agriculture, even though the industries cited are considered as water intensive. In 2011,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

’s economy grew at 14% with the onset of its first production of oil. However, in 2015 the growth rate was expected to be only 3.9%. This can be attributed to a great extent to the failure to provide the basic water and energy infrastructure to meet the needs of a rapidly growing economy. Ghana is mainly dependent on the Akosombo hydroelectric dam on the Volta River for electricity. Due to reduced inflows from low rainfall, the

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

was operating merely at half of its capacity in 2015. This was exacerbated by disruptions mainly in geothermal plants. In June 2015, all electricity was being rationed at 12 hours on, and 24 hours off. Though this is extreme, it reinforces the need for water infrastructure to sustain production and jobs in the nascent African economies. Anecdotal evidence from

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s and

employers Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a co ...

in Ghana indicate that tens of thousands of stable jobs were lost in 2015 and the investment climate has turned sour, forcing Ghana to seek

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

macro-economic support again. These policy instruments are underpinned by strategies and programmes, including the New Partnership for African Development Program (NEPAD), Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and many others, which include the integrated development of Africa’s water resources for socio-economic development and poverty alleviation and eradication. The AU Agenda 2063, for example, aspires to a prosperous Africa based on

inclusive growth Inclusive growth is economic growth that raises standards of livings for broad swaths of a population. Proponents for inclusive growth warn that inequitable growth may have adverse political outcomes. The definition of inclusive growth implies dire ...

and sustainable development. It specifically aims for an Africa that shall have equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for socio-economic development, regional cooperation and the environment, and calls for the following action among others:

Policy frameworks

African Water Policy Framework and impact on jobs

The African Policy Framework for the water sector comprise a series of high-level declarations, resolutions and programmes of action on the development and use of the continent’s water resources for socio-economic development, regional integration and the environment. These include the African Water Vision 2025 and its Framework of Action, the African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit on Water and Agriculture, the AU Sharm El Sheikh Declaration on Water and Sanitation, and most importantly, the Agenda 2063 –The Africa We Want. These policy instruments are underpinned by strategies and programmes, including the New Partnership for African Development Program (NEPAD), Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and many others, which include the integrated development of Africa’s water resources for socio-economic development and poverty alleviation and eradication. The AU Agenda 2063, for example, aspires to a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. It specifically aims for an Africa that shall have equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for socio-economic development, regional cooperation and the environment, and calls for the following action among others. ''‘Support Young people as drivers of Africa’s renaissance, through investment in their health, education and access to technology, opportunities and capital, and concerted strategies to combat youth unemployment and underemployment. Encourage exchange and Pan-Africanism among young people through the formation of African Union Clubs in all schools, colleges and universities. Ensure faster movement on the harmonization of continental admissions, curricula, standards, programmes and qualifications and raising the standards of higher education to enhance the mobility of African youth and talent across the continent by 2025’.''

Gallery

File:A water supply tap in Rhino Camp Ocea C.jpg, A water supply tap in Rhino Camp. May 2020 File:Water Well in africa.jpg, Water Well in Nigeria. February 2019 File:GDP Growth in Africa and Developing Countries, 2007 -2017.png, GDP Growth in Africa and Developing Countries, 2007 -2017 File:Population Growth in Africa, 1950 - 2050.png, Population Growth in Africa, 1950 - 2050

References

Sources

{{Free-content attribution, license=CC-BY-SA 3.0, author=UNESCO, title=The United Nations World Water Development Report 2016: water and jobs, documentURL=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002439/243938e.pdf, publisher=UNESCO, license statement URL=http://www.unesco.org/ulis/cgi-bin/ulis.pl?catno=243938&set=0058283C23_1_450&gp=1&lin=1&ll=1, source=UNESCO Water conservation A