Africa’s Emerging Urban Water Challenges 19
Figure 1.4 Density of 31 African Cities (Light) Compared to Reference Cities (Dark) 18,000 16,000 14,000
Population/km2
12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 Ki Ka n n Ad sha o di Da sa sA k b ar M Ab aba ju id De bi- jan lh Ma i, y I i Dondia u Br La ala az g za os Co vi n lle Lu L akr bu ua y m nd Ya ba a ou sh n i A dé Bl bu an ja Lu tyre s Ib aka a Na da D Ri ar M iro n o es ap bi de u Ja K Sala to ne ha a O iro rto m ua , u ga Br m do az u il C K go Be ap um u ijin e T as g, ow i Co Chi n to na Pa n ris A ou , F ccr r a D an Jo K ur ce ha am ba nn p n es ala b H ur Li ara g lo r ng e w e
0
City Source: Demographia, 2011. km2= square kilometers.
addition to the institutional and financial challenges of working in informal settlements, crowding creates additional technical challenges: retrofitting infrastructure such as traditional sewer or water supply networks is difficult because there is not enough space to accommodate new equipment.
African Cities Struggle to Provide Access to Water and Sanitation to Their Current Population In 2010, only 61 percent of Africans had access to clean water and 31 percent to adequate sanitation (WHO/UNICEF, 2012). In urban areas, the situation was slightly better with 83 percent access to water and 43 percent access to sanitation. Globally, the world will reach the Millennium Development Goals for water, but not for sanitation. However, in Africa, despite the significant number of people who have gained access to water since 1990, the Millennium Development Goals for water will not be reached. Between 2000 and 2010, 84 million urban Africans gained access to improved water supply and 42 million to improved sanitation (see Table 1.2). This is an impressive 3.9 percent average increase in access over the decade. However, urban population also grew by an average of 3.9 per-