Managing urban waters in Africa: challenges ahead

URBAN water and wastewater management have been unsustainable in all developing countries for centuries. The situation in African countries started to deteriorate post-1960 for many reasons. First is the population growth. In 1960, the total population of Africa was about 285 million. By 2017, it had increased by nearly 1 billion people to 1.256 billion. In 1960, the populations of Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa were 8.1, 45.1 and 17.4 million, respectively. By 2017, the corresponding figures were 44.7, 190.9, and 56.5 million.

Between 1960 and 2016, the level of urbanisation in Africa increased from 10.3 per cent to 40 per cent. Rates of urbanisation in Kenya grew from 7 per cent to 26 per cent, Nigeria 15 per cent to 49 per cent and South Africa 47 per cent to 65 per cent.

Thus, in a little over a half century, the population of most African countries increased between 3 to 6 times, along with the level of urbanisation. This is expected to continue. By 2050, Africa's population is estimated to be 2.52 billion and the level of urbanisation is expected to rise to 53 per cent.