**2.3 Socio-economic impact of water shortages in SSA**

There are several dimensions of access to safe water. These comprise proximity, accessibility, reliability, quality, quantity, and affordability [23]. Each of these aspects is almost violated in many countries in SSA. For example, if by standard a water point should preferably be within 200 m, many million across SSA travel for several miles to find a water source. Sometimes at the water site, people wait in a line and carry dirty water into containers to bring home for drinking and cooking. About three-quarters of the households in SSA collect water from a distance far beyond the WHO recommendation [24]. Unfortunately, the burden of water collection and storage usually falls on women and girls [4, 25]. Water fetching is a woman or child-dominated activity in Africa. The impact of distance between the water source and the point of its use goes beyond the physical burden. A study carried out in rural Kenya indicated a relationship between water fetching times and a risk factor for moderate-to-severe diarrhea [26]. In the middle of the year 2020, two children from Tokombere, a sub-divisional headquarter in the Far-North region of Cameroon were found dead on their way to fetch water, due thirst and trekking. Other dangers such as snake and scorpion bites are permanent threats to those that venture to fetch water during hot and cold weather. According to the United Nations estimates, women and young girls spend about 40 billion hours per year transporting water [27]. This corresponds to a

**Figure 1.**

*Women and children struggling to fetch water in the Mayo-Tsanaga Division (Cameroon).*

complete year's worth of labor by France's entire workforce [28]. This comprises the time for traveling to the water collection point, waiting at the water source, transporting the water, and storing it.

Even in big cities where water facilities are available, the reliability dimension of water is not always ensured. The high water demand in contrast with the limited water supply reduces the pressure of water flow in the water pipeline (water not flowing in some taps) leading to a lack of water, especially in the morning hours. This may cause water shortage for days or weeks in some countries like Cameroon. Sometimes, a rupture of water tank can lead to a lack of water supply to hundreds of people. Unfortunately, it takes many days for water authorities to be aware and to address the situation.

In addition to their public health impact, waterborne diseases can have a significant impact on the economy of endemic countries [29]. Water appears to have an economic value and should be recognized as an economic good. Providing clean water and a healthy environment is used as a standard indicator of achieved development as highlighted in the SDG water target. Otherwise, water shortage constitutes a serious setback to sustainable development. Water shortage can be a limiting factor in poverty alleviation resulting in low productivity, food insecurity, and constrained economic development [18]. This is because inadequate water resources can restrain improved agricultural development given that agriculture is the largest user of water in Africa. Water stress is particularly a serious threat to irrigated agriculture leading to food insecurity.

The water crisis is at the heart of many social tensions in SSA. Water shortages have plunged several countries in SSA into major social crises. For instance, the crisis in Darfur (Sudan) and recently the tribal conflicts between the Musgum and the Chua Arabs in Logone and Chari (Northern Cameroon) stem in part from water disputes [30] as seen in **Figure 2**. In Darfur, the conflict resulted from competition over water and grazing land between two groups of nomadic farmers, in the same light, in the Logone and Chari division of the Far-North of Cameroon, the Musgum (mainly farmers and fishermen) are competing with the Shua Arabs (herders) over increasing scarcity of water and land resources resulting from the reduction of water bodies in the Lake Chad Basin. Other water-based conflicts in SSA include violent conflict between Senegalese and Mauritanians over the introduction of the irrigation systems, conflicts in the Niger Delta resulting from the struggle over access to limited wetlands due to the decrease of the level of the Niger River, etc. [30].

**Figure 2.** *A: Displaced Musgum in Kousseri. B: Darfur conflicts in South Sudan.*
