Languages
Monday, July 27, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
The Southern Africa Water Wire
Africa’s Water Security Hinges on Better Infrastructure
As Africa continues its seemingly endless struggle for water security, why is the beleaguered continent lagging behind Asia and Latin America - despite commitments and declarations by political leaders?
Harvesting Water to Save Crops and Lives
Peter Kivuti, a 51-year-old farmer from Eastern Kenya, never relied on meteorological weather predictions all his life - until three years ago. It was then that rainfall in the region become less predictable.
ZIMBABWE: A Long Dry Season
Headmaster Njabulo Mpofu has weathered long dry spells before, but the water troubles affecting his school in the arid Midlands region of Zimbabwe are severe.Scarce Water Diverted by Greased Palms
The battle to resolve the global water crisis is being grossly undermined by bad governance: bribery, extortion, embezzlement and high-level corruption.
Time Running Out Faster Than Water, Experts Warn
A major weeklong international water conference opened in the Swedish capital Monday with an ominous warning: time is running out faster than fresh water.
SOUTH AFRICA: ‘Tea Bag’ Filter Provides Safe Drinking Water
Though it may look like a tea bag, straining water through this recently developed filter could provide a cheap, easily replenished source of water for those who need it most.
EAST AFRICA: Protecting Lake Victoria’s Top Predator
Coordinated conservation measures to arrest the steep decline of stocks of Nile perch in Lake Victoria are showing encouraging results - for fish, if not for fishing communities around the lake.
ZAMBIA: Water Committee Prospers in Lusaka
Residents of Lusaka's George Compound remember the bad old days in the early 1990s, when the area suffered ugly outbreaks of waterborne diseases.BOTSWANA: Acquiring a Taste for Recycled Water
Many Batswana are quick to recoil at the mere mention of drinking treated wastewater.
MALAWI: Local Management the Tonic for Water Woes
Hop over a seep of filthy sludge behind a bathroom screened with ragged sacks, turn past the toilet with battered cardboard walls, crab between mud-brick shanties roofed with rusty metal... There: emerge into a small, neat yard where a dozen women and girls are filling plastic buckets from five water taps sticking out of concrete wall.ZIMBABWE: Questions Raised Over Water Treatment Funding
The memories of Zimbabwe's 2008-2009 cholera outbreak are fresh in the minds of everyone except the people who have the safety of the country's water in their hands.AFRICA: Bring Water Into Climate Change Negotiations
Longer periods of drought, decreased river flow, higher rainfall variability and lower soil moisture content: water is at the heart of the impacts of climate change. Yet the precious commodity scarcely features in climate negotiations.
MALAWI: Urban Dwellers Adopting Dry Sanitation
Diarrhoea causes more deaths than malaria and AIDS combined, yet while funding to fight the latter two have risen sharply, the same cannot be said of resources available for hygiene, sanitation and clean drinking water.SOUTHERN AFRICA: Realising Trade in Virtual Water
The vegetables Omphemetse Monyi sells at the Francistown bus rank come from 400 kilometres away in South Africa. One approach to development might seek to replace her suppliers with local farmers, but Southern Africa's water managers are considering the merits of reinforcing a regional trade in "virtual water".ZIMBABWE: Badly Needed Work Begins on Bulawayo Water System
Dispersing feasting flies and angry residents from a manhole cover spewing sewage from people’s homes and into the road: another day in the working life of Njabulo Siziba. It's a dirty, frustrating, thankless job as a civil engineer for Bulawayo city council, but help is at hand for Siziba and the city he serves.
U.N. Declares Water and Sanitation a Basic Human Right
When the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) back in December 1948, 58 member states voted for a historic document covering political, economic, social and cultural rights.Upstream States Challenge Egypt Over Nile Waters
A water-sharing treaty among five upstream Nile Basin countries - to the exclusion of Egypt and Sudan - has reignited the longstanding dispute over water distribution. Local experts, however, say the agreement will not jeopardise Egypt's historical share of Nile water.
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Developing a Pristine River: The Okavango Basin
The welcome end to wars in the upper reaches of the Okavango River brings new pressures for development and the risk of unwelcome changes to the health of the river. A joint commission to manage the basin is developing tools to avoid this.
NAMIBIA: Will Farm Project Mean the River Runs Dry?
A proposed irrigation scheme promises greater food security for Namibia, but should the 10,000 hectare Katondo Farm Project be completed, it could threaten the health of the Okavango River.
Residents Hope 2010 Flooding Prompts Govt Action in Luanda
The water seeped into Feliciana Teresa Matia’s home from beneath its mud floor and when her 20-year-old son Francisco got up to go to work, grabbing a metal pole for guidance in the dark, he was electrocuted.
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Some For You, Some For Me: Sharing the Inkomati River
At Ekuvinjelweni village, in South Africa's Mpumalanga Province, the Komati River flows clear and fast through the mountains.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The Southern Africa Water Wire provides in-depth coverage of a diverse range of water-related issues in Africa, linking water to economic development, social well-being and environmental protection. Local journalists from across the continent explore the challenges, failures and successes of managing this vital resource.
Like the Southern Africa Water Wire to receive the latest water news and information from IPS and other top news agencies, as well as agencies in the field
Follow @africawaterwire
