Places to Donate a Water Well: Africa
If you’re looking for an area to donate a water well, Africa is a prime candidate. The impoverished continent is in dire need of clean water. According to Global Citizen, “Of the 783 million people who are without access to clean water, 40 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa, and more than 320 million people lack access to safe drinking water.”1 With a third of the population facing water scarcity, access to clean water—which has been declared a basic human right by the United Nations—is a pervasive issue across the continent.2
Many people in Africa, mostly women and girls, must walk 30 minutes or more to collect water for the family’s daily needs, including drinking, cooking, cleaning and bathing.3 This burden steals precious time and energy from worthwhile pursuits such as generating income or gaining an education. Collectively, in sub-Saharan Africa alone, 40 billion hours are spent each year in water collection.4
To make matters worse, the water they work so hard to collect is often contaminated. In developing countries like those of Africa, water is often from unprotected sources such as ponds and rivers that commonly contain fecal matter, arsenic and other pollutants.5 In some areas, as much as two-thirds of the population relies on surface water that is unfit to drink.6
This unclean water leads to a host of waterborne diseases, including typhoid, dysentery, cholera and diarrhea. Water-related diseases are the most common cause of illness and death in developing countries. Every year, 1.8 million people worldwide die from diarrheal diseases, which are often caused by drinking unclean water.7 Many of these deaths are preventable.
In an area heavily dependent on agriculture, the lack of water also affects people’s livelihoods. In sub-Saharan Africa, “The consequences of unpredictable rainfall, rising temperatures, extreme drought, and lower crop yields expose one of Africa’s poorest communities to increasingly intense climate- and water-related hazards,” says Brookings Institution.8
Water wells could make a substantial difference in this water crisis, but the many impoverished people in Africa can’t afford them on their own. According to Global Citizen, “Most of the world’s poorest countries are in sub-Saharan Africa.”9 Across the continent, approximately 413 million people live in poverty and lack resources to improve their condition.10
1 Rodriguez, Leah. “4 Factors Driving the Water & Sanitation Crisis in Africa.” Global Citizen. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/water-and-sanitation-crisis-sub-saharan-africa/. October 7, 2019.
2 Holtz, Leo and Christina Golubski. “Addressing Africa’s extreme water insecurity.” Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/07/23/addressing-africas-extreme-water-insecurity/. July 23, 2021.
3 “Water Inequality.” National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/water-inequality/. Accessed August 12, 2021.
4 Odonkor, Alexander Ayertey. “Water crisis in Africa: Scarcity amidst abundance.” CGTN. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-10-19/Water-crisis-in-Africa-Scarcity-amidst-abundance-UGMXwgwhkA/index.html. October 19, 2020.
5 Luby, Stephen. “Water Quality in South Asia.” Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2740663/. June 2008.
6 Rodriguez, Leah. “4 Factors Driving the Water & Sanitation Crisis in Africa.” Global Citizen. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/water-and-sanitation-crisis-sub-saharan-africa/. October 7, 2019.
7 Water Supply & Sanitation.” World Water Council. https://www.worldwatercouncil.org/en/water-supply-sanitation. Accessed August 11, 2021.
8 Holtz, Leo and Christina Golubski. “Addressing Africa’s extreme water insecurity.” Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/07/23/addressing-africas-extreme-water-insecurity/. July 23, 2021.
9 Rodriguez, Leah. “4 Factors Driving the Water & Sanitation Crisis in Africa.” Global Citizen. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/water-and-sanitation-crisis-sub-saharan-africa/. October 7, 2019.
10 Fries, Kat. “10 Facts About Pollution in Africa.” Borgen Project. https://borgenproject.org/pollution-in-africa/. Accessed October 5, 2021.