Africa's Water Supply Faces Funding Gap, World Bank Says

Summary

• Access to basic drinking water in Sub-Saharan Africa improved from 587 million people a decade ago to 840 million in 2024, but progress lags population growth.
• Nearly one in three people in the region still lack basic water access due to service delivery failures, underinvestment, weak governance, climate shocks, and rapid urbanization.
• Soma Moulik advocates for system change: shifting focus from infrastructure to institutions, sector governance, and making utilities more responsive.
• Public financing for water supply and sanitation in African countries is less than 1% of GDP, significantly lower than education (3.5%) and health (5.6%), indicating a huge funding gap.
• To crowd in private financing, enabling conditions are needed: better regulatory frameworks and making utilities creditworthy.
• Current private financing is very small and limited to niche areas like public-private partnerships (PPPs), performance-based contracts for reducing non-revenue water, or wastewater management.
• An example of innovative financing is the Bita Water Guarantee in Angola, where a $500 million IBRD guarantee leveraged $1.1 billion in commercial financing.
• The World Bank prioritizes job creation, as water is an essential driver; two-thirds of Africa's labor force depends on water-related jobs.
• Key challenges include building strong institutions, improving sector governance, ensuring accountability, and securing leader commitment to turn the sector around.
• The World Bank is working with new instruments and tools, involving IFC more to enhance financing dialogue for water projects.