Climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying. But it isn’t only temperature increases which should be cause for alarm, says Sivan Yaari, Founder and CEO of Innovation: Africa, but also the resulting change in water accessibility. Hundreds of thousands of sub-Saharan Africa’s are affected each day and there is no time to wait.
An alarming United Nations report revealed that global temperatures are expected to reach or exceed 1.5°C of warming over the next two decades. For those already struggling severely with water security, this increase in temperature has the potential to be devastating. UNICEF predicts that by 2040, if drastic measures aren’t taken, almost 1 in 4 children will live in areas of extremely high water stress. Shockingly, over 400 million people across Africa lack access to clean water, and with sub-Saharan Africa experiencing the slowest rate of progress, the world needs to get water smart and help these vulnerable communities. Everyone has a role to play, and we simply cannot afford to wait.
Without access to safe water, it is difficult to survive let alone reach any type of development – human or economic. For millions of people across Africa, who are dependent on unreliable and contaminated open water sources, access to clean water is largely unimaginable. Generations of women are required to walk far distances and wait long hours in line just to collect dirty and unsafe water. Children would have to miss precious hours in school because they too had to look for and collect water. But, Innovation: Africa is changing this by harnessing the energy from the sun and installing solar water pumping systems to provide safe and clean water to millions of people across 10 African countries.
Clean water exponentially improves the health and wellbeing of a community and limits the transmission of diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio as communities can practice increased standards of hygiene.
Access to clean water brings food security, female empowerment and fosters economic independence thereby helping to break the cycle of poverty, reduce inequality and bring peace to communities where the lack of water previously created tension.
In terms of farming, when local grids are unreliable, solar-powered irrigation is increasing farm-level incomes by five to 10 times, improving yields by up to 300% and reducing water usage by up to 90%. This has incredible economic impact for communities relying on farming to keep themselves sustained and bring in life-changing revenue. Agriculture accounts for 14% of the total GDP in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the majority of employment for the continent’s population. But, due to increasing water scarcity, Africa is simply not able to reach its full agricultural potential, leaving many without any help. Serious adverse effects on food security and on livelihoods at the regional, national and individual household levels are becoming increasingly prevalent.
According to ESI Africa, South Africa is approaching physical water scarcity in 2025 and is expected to experience a water deficit of 17 percent by 2030. Water Week 2022 is a critical call for South Africa, and other African countries, to reimagine their energy policies. Since 2010, the price of solar energy has decreased by 89%, making it the most affordable form of energy in history. There is a real opportunity to use solar powered water pumps to provide communities with access to water that is cost-effective and truly transformative.