Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene September - October 2016 Vol. 11 No.4 | Page 14
Water Supply
Formal structures, such as independent boards and
regulators, can help bolster professional corporate
cultures, but may be insufficient on their own. In Burkina
Faso, ONEA’s performance contract with the government
is supervised by a multi-stakeholder committee
with customers, nongovernmental organizations,
and development partners. Other successful utilities
also developed relationship networks with external
stakeholders, mobilizing support against predation.
Water facts and figures
Water use
Did you know that the world uses:
• 70 percent freshwater for irrigation
• 22 percent freshwater for industry
• 8 percent freshwater for domestic use
Did you know that by 2025, water withdrawals are
predicted to increase by:
• 50 percent in developing countries
• 18 percent in developed countries
Did you know that by 2025:
• 1800 million people will be living in countries or
regions with absolute water scarcity
• two-thirds of the world population could be under
stress conditions caused by water scarcity
Did you know that
• the world’s six billion people are using 54 percent of
all accessible freshwater contained in rivers, lakes and
underground aquifers
• the volume of freshwater resources is around 35
million km3, or about 2.5 percent of the total volume
which is 1.4 billion km3
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • September - October 2016
It is possible for rapidly growing African cities to provide
their poorest residents with near-universal access to
reliable and affordable water. Success is possible even in
difficult circumstances – poor water resource endowments,
low levels of economic development and seemingly
inauspicious governance environments. Where political
economy factors can be mustered to enable, support and
protect professional management and service provision,
combined with the necessary financial and technical
support, other cities could similarly extend and sustain
water service to poor households.
• about 24 million km3 or 70 percent of freshwater
resources is in the form of ice and permanent snow
cover in mountainous regions, the Antarctic and
Arctic regions
Drinking water and sanitation
Did you know that:
• the UN suggests that we need 20-50 litres of safe
freshwater a day for drinking, cooking and cleaning
• more than one in six people worldwide - 894 million
- don’t have access to 20-50 litres of safe freshwater a
day
• the daily drinking water requirement per person is
2-4 litres, but it takes 2000 to 5000 litres of water to
produce one person’s daily food
• 2.5 billion people, including almost one billion
children, live without basic sanitation.
• every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor
sanitation. That’s 1.5 million preventable deaths each
year
• globally, diarrhoea is the leading cause of illness and
death, and 88 per cent of diarrhoeal deaths are due
to a lack of access to sanitation facilities, together
with inadequate availability of water for hygiene and
unsafe drinking water.