CommunicationPublished on 26 May 2026

Africa: water, a key issue for development, peace and stability

Africa Day on 25 May is an opportunity to reiterate the importance of water for human development, peace and stability. On this occasion, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is presenting an overview of its activities in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Chad, as well as its Blue Peace water diplomacy initiative.

Rehabilitation work on a well in Chad. — © SDC, Peter Bieler

“Restoring access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation and hygiene is a vital emergency intervention and a cornerstone of disease prevention in crisis situations,” says Mirjam Sick, a WASH specialist working for the WHO in Sudan.

Beyond crisis situations, access to water remains a challenge in many African countries. In 2026, more than one in three people in Africa still do not have access to a basic drinking water service, with sub-Saharan Africa the worst affected. Between population growth, rapid urbanisation, climate change and conflicts, the pressure on water resources is intensifying. In countries affected by conflict or prolonged crisis, infrastructure is weakened or even destroyed, and basic services are severely limited.

The population pays a heavy price, affected by the spread of disease, food insecurity, loss of livelihoods and forced displacement. In fragile regions such as the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, water scarcity adds to existing tensions. Women and girls pay the highest price, spending hours collecting water, often to the detriment of their education and economic independence.

Chosen by the African Union as its theme for 2026, water remains a key issue for human development, peace and stability. Africa Day on 25 May is an opportunity to remind ourselves of this.

Switzerland, which has extensive experience in water management, is involved at several levels through the SDC. From projects in the field to water diplomacy initiatives such as Blue Peace, it supports innovative, concrete, sustainable solutions that benefit local populations, while drawing on Swiss and international expertise. Below are a few examples.

• DRC: Goma facing rapid urban growth

  

  Installation of drilling equipment to bore a well in Goma. — © ICRC

  In 2021, Goma – capital of North Kivu, the eastern province on the border with Rwanda – had a population of around 770,000. Three years later, in 2024, it is almost 2 million. This rapid growth can be attributed to strong demographic growth, rural depopulation, and the influx of people displaced by the recurring conflicts that have plagued the country, particularly in the east, since the 1990s.

  Despite being located on Lake Kivu, which supplies the city with water, Goma is facing a chronic shortage of drinking water. Bringing water from the lake is costly and its treatment more complex than for groundwater.

  While access to water remains intermittent or non-existent in many neighbourhoods, its high cost is a burden on households, forcing people to reduce their consumption to the bare minimum. More than half of the population rely on sources of water that are unsuitable for drinking, and are therefore exposed to water-borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.

  

  Installation of drilling equipment to bore a well in Goma, DRC. — © ICRC

  Studies of the groundwater beneath the city, financed by Switzerland, have shown that the water is of good quality and in sufficient quantity to provide a viable supply for the city. “The use of groundwater, which can be distributed without pumping thanks to the terrain, represents an innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective alternative that complements the water from Lake Kivu,” says the Swiss cooperation office in Bukavu. Treatment of groundwater, which is necessary to soften it and reduce its fluoride content, is much less costly than treating surface water.

  Implemented by the ICRC, Switzerland's long-standing partner in the region, this SDC-supported project is helping to diversify sources of water supply and strengthen the population's resilience to climate-related hazards.

• Chad: making water a factor for peace and stability (or when water rhymes with peace and stability)

  

  Activity around a well in Chad. — © SDC, Togyanouba Yananbaye

  “To drink, we used to go to Ida-Toile, about 7 km away, and when the water ran out, we had to go as far as Oum-Hadjer, 17 km away. It was very difficult. Our well was out of order.” The rehabilitation of his well, with the support of the SDC, was a relief: he was able to return to work and provide for his family. This account by Mahamat Ali Souleyman, a cattle farmer in the Batha province of central Chad, is a reminder of just how vital water is: without water, there can be no life, no economic activity and no stability.

  In this part of the Sahel, pastoral farming is one of the pillars of economic activity and food security. But in an environment weakened by climate change, demographic pressure and the expansion of farmland, access to water, like access to land, is becoming a source of tension between pastoral farmers and crop farmers.

  Supported by the SDC, this project to strengthen pastoral farming is based on an integrated approach, combining water with animal and human health. It includes herd vaccination, prenatal consultations and child vaccination. Since 2022, more than 20,000 km² of dry-season grazing land has already been made accessible thanks to new and rehabilitated hydraulic structures: 10 water points, 16 rehabilitated wells, 3 new wells, and 5 pastoral pumping stations have already been put into service, while 10 other facilities are currently under construction.

  But the project is not just about building structures: scores of local agreements govern the management of natural resources, hydraulic structures, transhumance corridors and grazing areas. They enable nomadic communities to stay longer at water holes and develop income-generating activities. Access to water is transforming the daily lives of thousands of livestock farmers, reducing the need to travel and ensuring household food security.

• Sudan: “Providing sufficient drinking water is the absolute priority.”

  

  Visit to a hospital in Port Sudan. — © WHO

  Since the start of the war, more than 100,000 people have been killed, the number of those suffering from acute malnutrition has reached 21 million, and 13 million have been displaced. Of these, 9 million are internally displaced and 4 million have fled to neighbouring countries, mainly Chad, South Sudan and Egypt. Millions of people are also exposed to water-borne diseases. Mirjam Sick, a member of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, has been deployed to the WHO in Sudan as a WASH specialist. We interviewed her about her work there.

Mirjam, can you tell us about your work?

I work as a WASH officer for the WHO at their country office in Port Sudan. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are part of the WHO's mandate to prevent and control infections, because many diseases such as cholera are linked to contaminated water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene practices. In addition, open bodies of water can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, while poor waste management encourages the proliferation of pathogenic micro-organisms.

My work focuses on monitoring water quality to ensure safe drinking water, and WASH-related matters in health facilities. I carry out field visits to water points and health centres to assess conditions, identify risks and help implement practical solutions. Working with ministries of health and WHO colleagues, we assess water supply systems and sanitation facilities, take samples and have them analysed in the lab. I also support the development of regulations and procedures for water safety and quality monitoring.

Monitoring drinking water quality: an official from the Red Sea State Ministry of Health takes a sample for lab analysis. — © SDC, Mirjam Sick

What challenges do you face?

The main challenge lies in the scale of the needs. There's so much to do and resources are limited. Visits by the authorities are rare, due to a lack of resources for staff, transport, fuel and basic running costs. Nor is there any investment in water infrastructure or its maintenance. Added to this is a lack of control over hygiene measures and limited enforcement of regulations.

Let me give you an example: during a visit to a water desalination plant in Port Sudan, we assessed the water sold by private operators with state licences. Although they have the necessary equipment (generators, pumps, filters, chlorination units, etc.), we observed poor hygiene practices, an unsanitary environment and open-air drilling, exposing the water to contamination – problems that can in fact be resolved without additional financial resources.

The massive influx of displaced people has made the situation worse, sharply increasing demand for water and exacerbating the shortage. What I am describing for Port Sudan reflects the situation in many parts of the country and is even more serious in the camps. “Providing sufficient drinking water is the absolute priority.”

Water-treatment equipment at a small private water company in Port Sudan. — © WHO, Anwar Jackal

What is the current situation and how are you adapting your work to the urgent needs of the population?

The current situation presents an extremely high risk of epidemics of water-borne diseases linked to inadequate sanitation and hygiene. On the basis of a risk assessment carried out with the WHO health team, we have sought funding from organisations and donors to step up water quality monitoring and the distribution of chlorine for water disinfection, both at household level and in treatment and distribution systems. The timing is all the more critical as the rainy season approaches, increasing the risk of rapid transmission of disease, particularly cholera and dengue fever.

The institutions and technical staff are present and committed, but as I mentioned, the country is suffering from a serious lack of funding and is not in a position to deal with the scale of the crisis with the resources currently available. In this context, we are adapting our action to support people locally so that they can survive in extremely difficult conditions.

In practical terms, what happens when access to water and sanitation is lacking in a crisis situation?

The consequences are immediate and often devastating. People are forced to resort to contaminated water sources such as surface water, unsafe wells or water shared with animals. The lack of sanitation means that excrement is not properly contained, allowing bacteria to spread rapidly through water and food. Inadequate hygiene, particularly the inability to wash hands with soap, accelerates the transmission of disease.

In overcrowded environments such as IDP camps, these risks are multiplied: a single source of contaminated water or an area of open defecation can quickly trigger epidemics, particularly of cholera, acute diarrhoea and typhoid. Among children under the age of five, diarrhoeal diseases are one of the main causes of death. Diarrhoea also contributes to acute malnutrition, creating a potentially fatal vicious circle in already vulnerable populations. Hepatitis E, which is particularly dangerous in Sudan, is especially fatal for pregnant women.

Sanitation and hygiene are therefore essential to prevention, especially as the risk of polio is worrying due to population movements and falling vaccination coverage. Restoring access to drinking water, basic sanitation and hygiene is a vital emergency intervention and a cornerstone of disease prevention in crisis situations.

• Blue Peace: water diplomacy in action

  

  The Gambia River in Farafenni. — © UNCDF

  In sub-Saharan Africa, 90% of water resources are found in more than 60 transboundary river basins, making their management a major issue – a challenge shared on a global scale. Cooperation between countries is essential.

  This is the background to Switzerland's Blue Peace water diplomacy initiative. By combining water diplomacy and development cooperation, it helps countries that share rivers and groundwater to manage them together more efficiently, equitably and sustainably. In particular, it supports the development of international standards and cooperation mechanisms for joint water management at catchment level.

  In West Africa, the initiative has developed a number of partnerships to make the most of this shared resource. Together with the Gambia River Basin Development Organization (OMVG), Blue Peace has supported the development of a master plan comprising almost 180 projects in areas such as water and sanitation, agriculture, clean energy and navigation. Once the funding has been mobilised, these projects could benefit almost 6 million people in the region. In partnership with the OMVG and the African Network of Basin Organizations, the initiative has also supported the setting-up of a pilot training course in water diplomacy at the University of Saint Louis in Senegal.

  We are all interdependent and face the same global challenges. The source of life, water is a common good that requires collective responses.

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