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A triple threat of water-related crises is endangering the lives of 190 million children

21/03/2023

Self Photos / Files - UN0431961

© UNICEF/UN0431961/

 

NEW YORK, 20 March 2023 – As world leaders prepare to attend the historic UN Water Conference, UNICEF calls for urgent investment in climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services to protect children. 190 million children in 10 African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats – inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); related diseases; and climate hazards – according to a new UNICEF analysis.

 

The triple threat was found to be most acute in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia, making West and Central Africa one of the world's most water-insecure and climate-impacted regions, according to the analysis. Many of the worst-affected countries, particularly in the Sahel, are also facing instability and armed conflict, further aggravating children’s access to clean water and sanitation.

 

Across the 10 hotspots, nearly one-third of children do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-thirds do not have basic sanitation services. A quarter of children have no choice but to practise open defecation. Hand hygiene is also limited, with three-quarters of children unable to wash their hands because of lack of water and soap at home.

 

As a result, these countries also carry the heaviest burden of child deaths from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, such as diarrhoeal diseases. For example, 6 of the 10 have faced cholera outbreaks over the past year. Globally, more than 1,000 children under five die every day from WASH-related diseases, with around 2 out of 5 concentrated in these 10 countries alone.

 

These hotspots also rank within the top 25 per cent of 163 countries globally with the highest risk of exposure to climate and environmental threats. Higher temperatures – which accelerate pathogen replication – are increasing 1.5 times faster than the global average in parts of West and Central Africa. Groundwater levels are also dropping, requiring some communities to dig wells twice as deep as just a decade ago. At the same time, rainfall has become more erratic and intense, leading to floods that contaminate scarce water supplies.

 

The new analysis comes ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference taking place in New York from 22-24 March. World leaders, relevant organizations and other participants will convene for the first time in 46 years to review progress toward ensuring access to water and sanitation for all. At the conference, UNICEF is calling for:

  • Rapid scale-up of investment in the sector, including from global climate financing.
  • Strengthening climate resilience in the WASH sector and communities.
  • Prioritizing the most vulnerable communities in WASH programmes and policies.
  • Increasing effective and accountable systems, coordination and capacities to provide water and sanitation services.

  • Implementing the UN-Water SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework and investing in the key accelerators.

 

 

Read the brief here.