NAIROBI, February 11. /TASS/. About 20% of Africa’s population, or more than 300 million people, lack access to clean and safe drinking water, UN Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Claver Gatete, stated while speaking at the opening of the 48th session of the African Union Executive Council in Addis Ababa broadcast on the organization’s website.
Addressing the African Union’s theme of the year, ensuring sustainable access to water and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063, he noted that "water and sanitation are not just social services but economic infrastructure."
"However, across Africa, more than 300 million people still lack access to safe drinking water, and approximately 780 million lack adequate sanitation conditions," the UN Deputy Secretary-General highlighted. "Water-related diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, and typhoid fever continue to claim lives across the continent. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 115 people die every hour in the African region from preventable diseases." The economic consequences of this are extremely significant, Gatete emphasized.
"Poor water supply and sanitation also reduce labor productivity, increase healthcare costs, and hinder investment," he added. "Factories require a reliable water supply, agricultural enterprises need irrigation, and cities need sewage systems to function productively. Without reliable water supply systems, industrial zones cannot remain competitive, logistics centers cannot expand effectively, and urban economies cannot develop sustainably.".