From Africa Recovery, Vol.16 #2-3 (September 2002), page 32

ENVIRONMENT
African water fund proposed

With 60 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa's 680 million people lacking access to safe water, it is vital to increase investment in water development and management, argues a UN report prepared for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. Directed by the Netherlands' Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange, at the request of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the report, "No Water, No Future," specifically calls for the creation of a new African Water Facility. It would provide some of the start-up financing for improved water investment and management in the region, within the framework of the continent's New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

The report notes that people in the world's 40 poorest countries -- more than half of which are in Africa -- must try to meet their water and sanitation needs on an average of 30 litres or less per day, far below the 50 litres considered to be the absolute minimum for well-being. Even worse, people in nine African countries (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Gambia, Somalia, Mali, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda) currently live on less than 10 litres per day. The report urges a more comprehensive approach to water management, encompassing not just access to potable water and sanitation, but also water for crops, livestock and fisheries.

While some countries and populations suffer from water scarcity, the main problem is a "crisis of governance," says Prince Willem-Alexander. The report emphasizes the need for better coordination among countries sharing common river basins. It cites as a positive example the Nile Basin Initiative, launched in 1999 to coordinate policies among the 10 countries sharing the Nile's waters. By 2015, the report recommends, the countries of Africa's other major international river basins should develop similar plans for water resource allocation and investment.

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