UN sounds alarm on Africa’s 300 million without clean water

Around 20% of Africa’s population—over 300 million people—still lack access to clean and safe drinking water, the UN Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Claver Gatete, stated at the opening of the 48th session of the Afros Union Executive Council in Addis Ababa.

Addressing the African Union’s theme for the year—ensuring sustainable access to water and safe sanitation to achieve Agenda 2063 goals—Gatete emphasised that ‘water and sanitation are not just social services, but economic infrastructure, Caliber.Az reports.

“Across Africa, more than 300 million people still lack access to safe drinking water and roughly 780 million lack adequate sanitation,” he said. 

Gatete noted that water-related diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, and typhoid continue to claim lives across the continent, causing approximately 115 preventable deaths every hour in the African region, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). 

He stressed the severe economic impact of the water and sanitation crisis, noting that poor water and sanitation reduce labour productivity, increase health expenditures, and discourage investment.

“Factories require a reliable water supply, agro-processing requires irrigation, and cities require sanitation systems to function productively. In fact, investment decisions – including the location of industries and industrial parks – depend on reliable basic services, including access to water. But without reliable water systems, industrial zones cannot operate competitively, logistics hubs cannot expand efficiently, and urban economies cannot grow sustainably,” Gatete stated.

By Jeyhun Aghazada