NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

More than 220 million children and their families in Africa are water insecure. The impact is staggering: 58 percent of children in Eastern and Southern Africa and 31 percent of children in West and Central Africa live in areas of high, or extremely high, water vulnerability. These children are more likely to miss school to fetch water. They are more likely to suffer malnutrition and stunting when droughts and floods impact agricultural food production. And they are more likely to get sick when communicable diseases and infection spread due to lack of sanitation and contaminated water quality.

In addition to its impact on children’s health and well-being, water insecurity also limits economic growth and forces people to migrate.

As climate change leads to unpredictable and extreme weather patterns, and as population growth increases stress on water resources due to increased water demand and competition, the situation will only get worse.