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Over 200 international delegates opened a three-day conference on Monday, in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, to discuss proper management of Africa's water resources in the context of sustainable development.
Sponsored by the African Development Bank, the conference aims to develop strategies to address the problem of providing affordable clean and safe water to African people.
Ghana's President, John Kufuor, called on delegates to develop partnerships for investment in the water sector. "Africa has been reduced to a continent of natural disasters, alternating between drought, famine and deluges that sweep away everything in their wake including homes, infrastructure, livestock and human lives," Kufuor said.
The Crown Prince of Netherlands, Prince Wilhelm Alexander, called for change in water management. "The world water crisis is a crisis of governance, not of scarcity. While water is getting scarce in many places, there is enough water for all if we change the way we manage it. While the world population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources grew six-fold. Improved water and sanitation can also reduce morbidity and mortality from some diseases by 80 percent," the Prince said.
More than one billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water of whom two million, mostly in Africa, die because water supplies are not being properly managed. Half the global population also lacks adequate sanitation, the BBC reported on Monday.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
