Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Nov - Dec Vol. 9 No.6 | Page 18

Water Management Better Water Management Needed to Eradicate Poverty Analysis by Torgny Holmgren Edited by Kitty Stapp girls from school and women from productive work. On a larger scale, it keeps societies and economies from developing. Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is firmly advocating for a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on Water in the Post-2015 development agenda. A water goal needs to address several key aspects of human development. It is needed for health. By 2050, business-as-usual will mean two billion smallholder farmers, key managers and users of rainwater, eking out a living at the mercy of rainfall that is even less reliable than today due to climate change. I t demands repetition: water is a precondition for all life. It keeps us alive – literally – while being a prerequisite for or integral part of most of our daily activities. Think hospitals without water, think farms, energy producers, industries, schools and homes without our most needed resource. All sectors, without ^