Water and Sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa

A growing number of people in sub-Saharan Africa are gaining access to clean water and basic sanitation as governments and donors prioritize investments into the sector.

Fast Facts

• The percentage of people in sub-Saharan Africa with access to an improved water source increased from 49% in 1990 to 58% in 2006.
• The percentage of people in sub-Saharan Africa with access to improved sanitation increased from 26% in 1990 to 31% in 2006.
• Within individual countries, the results have been more marked: between 1990 and 2006, the percentage of the population with sustainable access to water in Malawi increased from 41% to 76% and in Namibia from 57% to 93%.
• In the water sector, seven out of the ten most rapidly progressing countries in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa - Burkina Faso, Namibia, Malawi, Ghana, Uganda, Mali, and Djibouti. Although they are not on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) water targets, all have provided drinking water coverage for at least 47% of their population since 1990.

SOUTH AFRICA: 10 million gain access to clean water

The South African government has declared access to clean water as a basic human right for its population. The country 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-and the results are telling. Since 1994, 10 million more people have gained access to safe water, with coverage rates rising from 60% to 86%.

SENEGAL: Near universal access to water achieved 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 as much as 98% in 2006, giving access to approximately 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, which likely contributed to Senegal's 22% decline in childhood mortality between 1990 and 2006.

MALAWI: Toilet access results in more girls in school

With the support of UNICEF and a $1.4 million grant from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Malawi implemented the Strategic School Sanitation Promotion. The project improved sanitation at 400 schools, reaching 381,000 children since 2003, and improved access to clean water at 158 schools. As a result of having hygienic, private facilities - unlike the pit latrines or bushes that were used in the past - absenteeism has decreased. 94% of primary-school aged girls were enrolled in school in 2006, compared to an average of 67% across the rest of the continent.