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Sub-Saharan Africa
Water
Worldwide and in Africa major progress has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals with respect to drinking water and basic sanitation, but in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa more than half the population still have no direct access to safe drinking water. The sanitation situation is currently even more critical.
Without safe drinking water and at least rudimentary sanitation the people of Africa have no chance of overcoming some of their worst problems – such as the high rate of infant mortality. Every day children, women and men in Africa die of diseases caused by contaminated water, diseases which could easily have been prevented had they had access to a hygienic water supply.
One of the priority areas of German cooperation with Africa is thus to improve water supply and sanitation. The Federal Republic of Germany pledges its African partners some 70 million euros every year to this end. For water resources policy and management and water resources protection at both national and regional level, the German government provides some 20 million euros per annum, making it the largest bilateral donor in the water sector in sub-Saharan Africa.
To help African partner countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Germany has undertaken to improve the access to drinking water and basic sanitation for a total of 30 million people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015.
Germany's efforts aim to improve the health situation and ensure food security. Experience also shows that the provision of clean drinking water has a positive impact on gender equality, reduces the threat of regional conflicts and fosters economic development.
Many of the water problems in sub-Saharan Africa are not primarily the result of water shortages, but of inefficient distribution and supply systems, mismanagement, excessive red tape and corruption. There is often a lack of properly operating institutions, and too little is invested in training staff and maintaining plant. Solving water problems is thus often primarily a political task.
The basic principles on which German commitment in the water sector are based include promoting citizen participation and encouraging them to use their own initiative. Projects and programmes are designed such that they can develop a sustainable impact and help tackle poverty. German efforts are based on the guiding vision of integrated water resources management, which takes a holistic approach to the societal framework and the ecosystem, and considers them to be of key importance.
German development cooperation has a particular wealth of experience in reforming the water sector, water supply and basic sanitation and in the management of national and regional water resources.
