Water sector news September 2017

Abstract

Women and water poverty As we celebrate Women’s Month in South Africa, we remember that the immense burden associated with not having access to safe water and clean sanitation is by and large firmly on the shoulders of women and the girl child. It is estimated that in sub-Saharan Africa 75% of water carriers are women and girls. The average of two hours dedicated to fetching water from rivers and wells twice a day effectively robs these women of an economically productive life, and denies girls of the basic right to education and, by extension, the opportunity to escape the poverty trap. This has the accumulative impact of sub-Saharan Africa losing 40 billion work hours of productivity a year. This is equivalent to the annual work hours of the whole of France. This is the level of production loss for the continent precipitated by insufficient access to water. Can you imagine the knock-on effect of these women achieving those 40 billion hours of productive earning work on their households, their communities and the prosperity prospects of this continent?

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