Sub-saharan Africa - Regional perspectives.

 

Water is at the centre of economic development, social cohesion and environmental sustainability in Africa, supporting various sectors such as domestic use, agriculture, construction and industry. In 2021, 79% of Africa’s fresh water went towards the agriculture sector, which employs over 45% of African workers and is heavily dependent on rainfall and groundwater. Water is also a key catalyst in industrial development as a raw resource and for operations like cooling and cleaning. An estimated 1.8 billion people were expected to be living in regions with absolute water scarcity by 2025. Chad, Niger and Somalia were reported to be the least water-secure countries in Africa in 2022. In Sub-Saharan Africa, access to clean and safe water remains a significant challenge, with access to basic water services estimated at 58% in 2024, and access to basic sanitation estimated at 47%. Approximately 115 people in Africa die every hour from diseases linked to poor sanitation, poor hygiene and contaminated water.

Africa has some of the world’s most water-scarce regions. The burden of water collection and management disproportionately falls on women and girls. Inequalities persist in water rights for men and women, as disparities in access, distribution, collection and quality prevail. Regional disparities, governance limitations and cross-sectoral siloing continue to hinder integration of World Economic Forum policies and associated investments.

In many Sub-Saharan countries, women and girls have primary responsibility for fetching water compared to men in rural households where water has to be collected. For example, in South Sudan, 90% of the rural household members who fetch water are women and girls, 84% in Malawi and Mozambique, 81% in Burkina Faso, 78% in Burundi and 76% in Central African Republic. Women and girls are often forced to give up or shorten other important activities (see Chapter 2) such as education and paying work to make time for this. They may also be exposed to sexual harassment and assault along remote routes and at congested water points. It has been estimated that providing access to basic water services could save women the equivalent of 77 million working days per year. This is particularly pronounced in the 80% of rural households where water sources are distant. Because of the emotional, physical and time burden associated with water collection, women may choose to restrict their own water consumption, including for food, drink and personal hygiene purposes, in order to prioritize the needs of their children and spouses. A lack of latrines with water access can pose a significant impediment to people who are menstruating, by restricting their mobility and full participation in public life. For example, some schoolgirls would often stay at home to manage their periods, missing multiple days of school.

While Sub-Saharan Africa faces profound gendered challenges in water access, governance and sanitation, the region also exhibits transformative leadership. The Africa Water Vision for 2025, endorsed by the African Union, positioned gender equity as central to achieving water security across the continent. However, implementation has been slow, with fewer than 30% of African countries integrating gender targets into national water policies in 2022.

 Cultural norms and beliefs that prioritize men as decision-makers in water-related issues often hinder women from actively participating in important discussions, even when they are present. Women often bear the brunt of most water-related chores at home, but are significantly underrepresented in the water sector, holding only 20% of jobs in 2019. They tend to have less access than men to productive resources like water, land and livestock. Across Africa, women can face discrimination when asserting their opinions in professional settings, due to socio-cultural norms and practices that ascribe community decision-making responsibility to men. For example, within Malawi’s urban water user associations women have mainly occupied low-pay positions at water kiosks, and have been excluded from decision-making spaces such as WUA boards. Despite an increase in women earning advanced degrees in relevant disciplines, the persistent perception of water and peacebuilding professions as ‘male domains’ has impeded women’s educational and career progression. Stereotypes that women have limited education, management and leadership experience, as well as lack of time, capital and social networks, are common. Educational disparities, partly fuelled by these prevailing stereotypes, often hinder girls and women from acquiring the knowledge and skills required to compete for leadership roles in the field. These stereotypes may be reinforced by existing education systems that discourage girls from focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, further limiting their pursuit of technically focused water sector careers. Persistent deficiencies in legal and institutional frameworks, particularly national laws, have often lacked gender-specific provisions, exacerbating the status quo. A content analysis of selected policy documents on drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) from Ghana, Kenya and Uganda revealed policies inadequately acknowledge WASH-related gender-based violence (GBV) and pay little attention to the complex ways gender and WASH are intimately connected. Beyond victim narratives, African women have catalysed grassroots movements challenging structural inequalities. Movements like Akina Mama wa Afrika and the African Women’s Development and Communication Network advocate for intersectional water justice, decolonized aid and feminist ecological frameworks that put African people, especially women, at the heart of decision-making, leadership and knowledge. Various initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa have been gathering evidence on legal barriers to genderresponsive reforms. For instance, the Horn of Africa Groundwater for Resilience Project, developed in cooperation with the World Bank Water Global Practice gender and community engagement team, has focused on identifying gender gaps and implementing actions to address them. In Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, the African Water and Sanitation Association has hosted regional leadership training for professional women’s networks to address the under-representation of women in public water and sanitation services. The training brought together women’s networks from 15 African countries, with the goal of equipping participants with essential skills in leadership, advocacy, self-esteem and mentoring so they can contribute to a more inclusive and diverse governance, more balanced decision-making, greater innovation and services better tailored to community needs. The Women in Water Diplomacy Network, launched in 2017 in the Nile basin, is another significant effort aimed to increase women’s participation in highlevel water diplomacy processes and improve gender equality in transboundary water management. In Zimbabwe, key authorities responsible for water resources management (WRM) have designated focal points to address gender policy and gender-related concerns. 

 In Sub-Saharan Africa, erratic rainfall patterns and prolonged droughts are becoming more common, exacerbating water scarcity. The degradation of wetlands and forests can undermine people’s ability to secure household water and food, which disproportionally affects women as they have the main responsibility for these tasks. Despite women’s central role in adaptation, a review of Sub-Saharan Africa shows women often provide manual labour for climate adaptation projects, and men tend to dominate technical and decision-making roles. This can limit women’s influence over strategies for ecosystem and water resilience. Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly fragile states, have governance challenges and resource constraints that can hinder effective climate change adaptation and water management. In light of these challenges, a range of low-impact solutions are being explored to simultaneously address issues of water scarcity and ecosystem degradation and to enhance climate resilience. The post-2025 Africa Water Vision is contributing to advancing gender equality by emphasizing the importance of mainstreaming gender in water governance, recognizing that the equal and meaningful participation of women in decision-making processes and WRM can lead to more equitable access to water resources and sustainable development.

 

Several emerging issues challenge the integration of gender and technology in water management, including the persistent gender disparity in STEM fields. This can affect women’s ability to contribute to technological innovations that could enhance the design, monitoring and scaling of nature-based solutions in water management. In Sub-Saharan Africa, digital inclusion remains a profound gender challenge; for example, for every 100 men with spreadsheet skills, only 40–44 women demonstrate equivalent proficiency, and fewer than one in three STEM graduates are women. Efforts to increase women’s participation in STEM, such as the Sahel Groundwater Initiative, have aimed to address educational obstacles and create favourable working environments for women in these fields. Projects in the African Great Lakes region such as the Cooperation in International Waters in Africa’s gender-transformative training on transboundary water governance have also highlighted the importance of gathering inputs from women and grass-roots organizations to inform water management strategies. Decentralized community-based solar water schemes and mobile-based irrigation financing mechanisms are fast evolving across Africa, offering adaptable nexus-aligned solutions. Young women innovators are emerging as critical actors in Africa’s water and climate sectors – from coding climate-smart irrigation apps to leading social enterprises in menstrual hygiene management. However, their participation is often constrained by lack of funding, mentorship and representation in policymaking spaces. Targeted investment in youth-led nexus solutions could accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while bridging intergenerational gender gaps.

Capacity-building and training programmes are crucial for advancing gender-responsive water governance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Initiatives such as those of the Southern African Development Community Groundwater Management Institute have been instrumental in promoting gender equality, by focusing on diversity in groundwater-related professions and by ensuring women and youth are included in capacity-building activities that could strengthen their technical, professional and leadership skills. Projects like the Climate Resilience and Water Security initiative in Angola, which support women’s participation in community organizations and water supply management, also contribute to these efforts. Digital skills training for women and girls in fragile, conflict and violent settings in Nigeria is an example of initiatives aimed at improving women’s agency and access to economic opportunities. Such programmes can provide women with the skills and knowledge needed to take on leadership roles and make informed decisions in the water sector

The African Development Bank estimated the total annual investment to achieve WASH-related objectives in Sub-Saharan Africa was US$64 billion, yet investments ranged between only US$10 billion and US$19 billion annually. Sub-Saharan Africa grapples with an exaggerated perception of risk, complicated by its reliance on donor-funded pilot projects, and may need to pivot towards sovereign-level financing mechanisms. Blended finance models, regional climate risk pools, diaspora bonds and Africa investments may provide scalable options that reduce dependency on external aid. Investors tend to view water-related investments as riskier and less appealing than other sectors due to their long project timelines, high capital costs, regulatory uncertainty, low or unpredictable revenues, technical complexity, and exposure to environmental and climate risks, which can make it difficult to attract investments.

 Tariffs for water services throughout Sub-Saharan Africa fall considerably short of cost recovery levels, with less than half of African countries being able to recoup over 80% of their operating and maintenance costs for WASH services through tariffs alone. Full cost recovery is rare in urban and rural contexts in Africa. The rural sectors are particularly underfunded, with many countries recovering less than half their costs. This highlights persistent urban–rural inequities in water and sanitation financing, with rural populations facing greater vulnerability to under-investment. The water supply and sanitation sector lags far behind other capital-intensive sectors in terms of mobilized private finance, with the sector accounting for only 2% of private investments on average in Africa between 2012 and 2020. Other sources of water financing such as government taxes and multilateral aid or loans are insufficient to meet the sector’s growing needs. Therefore, many Sub-Saharan African countries lack the necessary infrastructure to capture, store and distribute water effectively. Inadequate investment in water infrastructure can reinforce the burden of unpaid domestic labour, which may have a disproportionate impact on women in the region.

There is potential for scaling up public–private partnership (PPP) finance in water by looking beyond financial transactions. Countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon have enacted multiple reforms including “the introduction of legislation protecting women from gender-based discrimination in financial services and domestic violence, and the mandate for equal remuneration for work of equal value”.

Socio-economic obstacles, traditional customs and inheritance laws that have traditionally favoured men often exacerbate gender disparities in access to water across Sub-Saharan Africa. This can lead to unequal gender participation and impacts from water-related development and climate challenges. Strengthening governance structures may help to achieve equitable access to water resources and WASH services, recognizing the critical role women play in water management and decisionmaking processes and incorporating Indigenous knowledge. Capacity-building initiatives can also help to empower women and youth through education and professional development, thereby promoting gender equality in water-related professions. Gender-based messaging, monitoring and evaluation can bring about behavioural changes in participation and water use in communities, to prevent gender-related disparities in water access. By mainstreaming gender considerations into water management and climate-resilience efforts, Sub-Saharan Africa can move towards more equitable and sustainable development outcomes.

 Many water projects in the region are underfunded, and there is a need for increased investment to support gender-responsive initiatives. Inclusive and gender-responsive financing can help to address the water challenges of Sub-Saharan Africa. Leveraging mobile money technologies for bill collection, fostering PPPs, and executing targeted marketing and communication strategies are key elements in building trust and attracting vital investments to enhance water infrastructure and services. Furthermore, gender-responsive financing can drive innovation in the water sector by encouraging the development of solutions that address the specific needs of women and marginalized groups. This requires collaboration between governments, international organizations and private sector stakeholders to mobilize resources and ensure financing mechanisms are inclusive and equitable in SubSaharan Africa.