Causes of the Water Scarcity in Africa

The Water problem in Africa

For years Africa has been hit with great scarcity of water. More than half of all Africans lack access to fresh water, causing 5,000 children to die each day. Six major causes have been linked to this water scarcity in Africa. These major causes are no rain fall, ground water, inefficient use of resources, weak infrastructure, a troubled state, and extreme conditions.

A major cause of water scarcity in Africa is no rain fall. The Horn of Africa and Namibian Desert receives no rain fall. The entire western part of the continent receives as much 4,000 mm annually, while the rest of the continent falls in between 200-800 mm of rainfall annually. Draughts in Africa have been known to last up to 5 years.

The ground water of Africa is also a major cause. Three quarters of all Africans use ground water as their main water supply. Ground water is only 15% of the continent’s water supply. There are serious concerns about the quality of the ground water in Africa. It is extremely dirty and unhealthy, as seen in the pictures.

In this picture, a small African child drinks out of a brown lake. Dirty water is very common in Africa and is a major health problem.

There is inefficient use of resources in Africa. 4 trillion cubic meters of water are available, but only 4% is used. Most people in Africa lack technology and money to access water supplies.

As shown in the image above, Africa has a huge ecomomic water scarcity. Almost the whole continent has this problem, even areas close to the ocean or lakes. There are also physical water scarcities in desert areas and South Africa.

Weak infrastructure has also hit Africa, causing a scarcity in water. A weak infrastructure prohibits the economy from growing. Africa has 15% of the world’s population, but less than 1% of global manufacturing. 30 countries face regular power outages, according to a 2010 report by the World Bank and France’s development agency.

Another cause of the water scarcity in Africa is the troubled state that Africa is in. There have been over 9 million refugees and internally displaced people from conflicts in Africa. Hundreds and thousands of people have been slaughtered from a number of conflicts and civil wars.

The last major cause of the water scarcity in Africa is the extreme conditions of the continent. Africa is the hottest continent of earth. Drylands and deserts make up 60% of the entire land surface. The record for the highest temperature recorded was set in Libya in 1922 at 136 degrees Fahrenheit.

Africa is infamous in the fact that it has a high poverty rate and the people who live there have to work long and hard to get the basic essentials to live. The picture shows a group of women in Africa each carrying a case of water they had to get themselves. Sometimes women have to walk miles to gather water each day for their family or village.