Progress Report: Water in Africa

11.26.07

Fast Facts

• According to the World Bank, the percentage of people in sub-Saharan Africa with access to an improved water source increased from 52% in 1995 to 56% in 2004.
• But within individual countries, the results have been more marked: between 1990 and 2004, the percentage of the population with sustainable access to water in Malawi increased from 40% to 73% and in Chad from 19% to 42%.
• In Burkina Faso, access to clean water has increased by 26% for families — meaning more than one million more people now have access to safe drinking water.

Senegal - Near Universal Access to Water in Urban Areas

The Senegalese government has used financing from bilateral and multilateral donors to achieve 98% access to clean water in urban areas, putting the country on track to meet the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal of reducing by half the percentage of the population without access to clean water. Urban access to water services rose from between 74 – 81% in 1996 to 98% in 2006, giving access to 1.6 million more people. An additional 830,000 people also gained access to urban sanitation services and evidence shows a decline in water-borne diseases and childhood diarrhea.

South Africa - 10 Million Gain Access to Clean Water

The South African government has treated access to clean water as a basic human right, and access has greatly expanded. Since 1994, 10 million more people have gained access to safe water, with coverage rates rising from 60% to 86%. Today some 31 million people are served by a free basic water supply, and South Africa spends more on water and sanitation than it does on its military budget — one of the few sub-Saharan African countries to prioritize clean water in this way.

• Water Briefing 10.06
• The DATA Report 2007 Water and Sanitation Chapter