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29 May 2024
Torrential rains cause damage and loss of life in East Africa, especially in Kenya
During this year’s long rainy season, which usually lasts from March to May, Kenya has been severely affected by torrential rains which took place during the month of April. According to a situation assessment by the United Nations Agency for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), as of the end of April, the combination of heavy rain and flash floods had left 103 people dead, 29 injured, 21 people missing, 150,365 people (30,073 families) displaced and nearly 191,000 affected across the country...
2 May 2024
Dakar Water Hub Keynote Address on Water Insecurity and Prosperity in West Africa
In the third week of April, Dr Boubacar Barry, scientific advisor to the Dakar Water Hub, presented a keynote address on water security as a constraint to - or enabler for – prosperity in West Africa. The keynote address was held at a seminar in Accra organized by the Water Resource Management Commission of the Economic Community of West African States and the International Water Management Institute...
30 Apr 2024
Severe drought gripping Southern Africa
A severe drought associated with El Niño is currently affecting Southern Africa, with extremely dry and warm conditions since October 2023, leading the governments of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi to declare a state of emergency. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), El Niño effects are hitting at a time of already significant protracted unmet needs, with some 18 million people are currently experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity...
22 Mar 2024
South Africa and Zimbabwe sign water sharing agreement
On the 14th of March, South Africa’s Minister for Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu and Zimbabwe’s Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka signed an agreement for the transfer of treated water from Zimbabwe to South Africa. In terms of the agreement, the Beitbridge Water Treatment Works in Zimbabwe will supply Musina Local Municipality in South Africa with 15 million m³ of treated water per year...
12 Dec 2023
Investment Action Plan Closing the gap on investment in SDG 6 in Africa
The African Union and the High-Level Panel on Water Investments launched the Water Investment Action Plan at COP28. The Water Investment Action Plan has identified 53 national projects worth U.S. $ 30 billion across 19 African countries and 15 transboundary projects worth U.S. $ 9 billion, to be implemented in the remaining years until 2030...
6 Sep 2023
Groundwater: a resource for resilience in Southern Africa
Because it is available in different seasons and often of good quality, groundwater provides the opportunity to respond to droughts and climatic variations. These ideas underlie phase II of the new SADC groundwater management programme for 2031, following the one completed in 2021. The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)’s Groundwater Management Institute (GMI) secured funding from the World Bank and Global Environmental Facility for phase II of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Project...
25 May 2023
AfDB and UK sign U.S. 2 billion agreement for climate projects in Africa
On the 25th of May the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Kingdom (U.K.) signed an agreement to fund up to U.S. $ 2 billion in climate projects in Africa. The agreement was signed in the context of the AfDB annual meeting that took place in Accra, Ghana. At COP 26 in Glasgow, the U.K. had already announced its intention to support the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme endorsed by the African Union in order to upscale African plans to increase climate resilience...
9 Feb 2023
AIP efforts towards financing water investments in Africa bear fruit
Africa's population is projected to reach 1.6 billion by 2030, which translates into a need to transform and improve the investment outlook for water security and sustainable sanitation for a prosperous peaceful and equitable society. Currently, the level of financing for water and sanitation activities on the continent is said to fall far below the level required to meet the targets of the Africa Water Vision 2025; the Africa Union (AU) agenda 2063; and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)...
7 Feb 2023
Integration of water in NDCs in Sub-Saharan Africa commendable, more efforts crucial
Available data indicate significant benefits in integrating climate change coordination with good practices established for water management. Integrating water into the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) agreed under the Paris Agreement is a practical and urgently needed tool to achieve this...
26 Jan 2023
World Food Programme 22 million people food insecure in the Horn of Africa
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa is worsening after five consecutive below average rains. Combined with insecurity and economic volatility, WFP states, the impact of the drought on food security has been devastating. WFP estimates that 22 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are acutely food insecure because of drought...
23 Jan 2023
Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II to boost water supply to South Africa
With the awarding of major contracts, Lesotho and South Africa are satisfied that phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is now underway. The LHWP is a multi-phase international project between Lesotho and South Africa established through a treaty signed by the two countries in 1986. Phase I involved the construction of a 185-metre-high dam and augmenting South Africa’s freshwater supply by transferring water from the Maluti mountains into the Vaal River system through a 48 km long tunnel and a tail pond...
7 Oct 2022
UN predicts 700 million displaced in Africa by 2030 due to water scarcity
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has released a statement warning that, by 2030, as many as 700 million Africans will be displaced due to water scarcity issues. By then, only 1 in 5 countries will have sustainably managed water sources. With changing precipitation patterns and shrinking water reserves such as lakes and glaciers, combined with a growing need for water, WMO says that there is also a growing risk of water-related conflict...