By; ALEX UANGBAOJE, Kaduna
Most Africa countries have enough groundwater to survive at least five years of drought, while some others can survive more than 50 years, research has shown.
According to WaterAid and the British Geological Survey (BGS), who conducted the research, every African country south of the Sahara could supply 130 litres of drinking water per capita per day from groundwater without using more than 25% of the long-term average recharge and most less than 10%.
A statement made available by the Communication and Media Manager, WaterAid Nigeria, Oluseyi Abdulmalik, added that it means “groundwater could provide a buffer against climate change for many years to come, even in the unlikely event that it doesn’t rain.”
The statement noted that most countries in Africa have sufficient groundwater for people to not only survive but thrive, in some cases for more than 50 years.
It added that these countries includes Ethiopia and Madagascar, where only around half the population have clean water close to home, and large parts of Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
WaterAid, lamented that millions of people don’t have enough safe and clean water to meet their daily needs, let alone face the impacts of the climate crisis, which they say it’s as a result of gross underinvestment in services to get the water out of the ground and to those who need it most and untapped or poorly managed resources.
“WaterAid and BGS produced a series of maps which chart current access to drinking water across Africa and drought resilience based on potential useable groundwater at national level.” It said.
According to WaterAid and the British Geological Survey (BGS), who conducted the research, every African country south of the Sahara could supply 130 litres of drinking water per capita per day from groundwater without using more than 25% of the long-term average recharge and most less than 10%.
A statement made available by the Communication and Media Manager, WaterAid Nigeria, Oluseyi Abdulmalik, added that it means “groundwater could provide a buffer against climate change for many years to come, even in the unlikely event that it doesn’t rain.”
The statement noted that most countries in Africa have sufficient groundwater for people to not only survive but thrive, in some cases for more than 50 years.
It added that these countries includes Ethiopia and Madagascar, where only around half the population have clean water close to home, and large parts of Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
WaterAid, lamented that millions of people don’t have enough safe and clean water to meet their daily needs, let alone face the impacts of the climate crisis, which they say it’s as a result of gross underinvestment in services to get the water out of the ground and to those who need it most and untapped or poorly managed resources.
“WaterAid and BGS produced a series of maps which chart current access to drinking water across Africa and drought resilience based on potential useable groundwater at national level.” It said.
