- Water management is critical for meeting Africa’s development challenges.
- Though water is vital for agriculture, only about 7 per cent of Africa’s cultivated land is irrigated.
- Hydropower is also largely undeveloped in Africa; less than 10 per cent of its potential has been tapped.
- Water for people and animals is vital for survival and livelihoods, yet only 58 per cent of Africans have access to safe drinking water.
- In addition, the majority of people in Africa live in countries which share water with other countries, such as the riparian countries of the Gambia, Nile, Niger, Senegal, Zambezi, Volta and Congo River basins. They are amongst the poorest and most food insecure countries in the world, in regions that are highly vulnerable to water shocks, including recurrent floods and droughts.
- In addition to natural climate variation in Africa there is an urgent need to determine and mitigate the potential impacts of climate change and to ensure that growth and poverty reduction efforts result in resilience to climate change. The centrality of shared waters in Africa has motivated many countries to seek regional cooperation through river basin organizations.
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Source : World Bank's site
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