**1. Introduction**

Water is the most basic human need that is required to sustain life on earth. Water is central to plant, animal, and human life. Providing safe water and adequate sanitation is used as a standard indicator to achieve economic development and good health [1]. Therefore, good management of its resources is crucial to the development of every nation. Apart from its vital functions in human life, water is indispensable for the crop, animal, and fish production [2]. However, natural (climate change, rainfall deficit, and drought) and human factors (rapid population growth, urbanization of major cities, agriculture, and tourism) contribute to its scarcity [1, 3, 4]. Water scarcity, defined as lack of sufficient water, or lack of access to safe water supplies, is a global issue [3]. Globally, more than 2.7 billion people face water shortages, and

663 million people in the world lack access to safe water [3]. Unfortunately, half of the people who drink water from unsafe sources live in Africa with 319 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [5]. The causes of water shortages may differ in various regions of the world with respect to variations in climatic conditions and socio-cultural realities. Generally, Water shortage can be a limiting factor in poverty alleviation and is associated with negative impacts on the health of the population. It is therefore imperative to understand the driving factors that contribute to water scarcity in SSA and to evaluate its real impacts on the socio-economic development and health of the African sub-continent. Understanding the aforementioned parameters will help to devise appropriate strategies and policies to address the water shortage in SSA. Moreover, a good understanding of how waterborne diseases are affecting the population in both rural and urban areas is necessary to attain the African agenda 2063.
