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 12 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.