While government policies for access to water exist in most African countries, few have been properly implemented. For many people, securing clean water is a daily struggle. Women and girls walk long distances daily to fetch water and firewood for domestic use; 71% of the water collection burden falls on them in sub-Saharan Africa (2012 MDG Report). As a result, many girls drop out of school early.
Women don’t only bare responsibility for providing water for drinking purposes but are also overburdened with managing water, food and energy scarcity. They are involved in all water-related activities such as cleaning, conservation, storage, crop production both in irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture (they represent nearly 70% of the agricultural labor force of the continent and produce about 90% of all food), and preparation of food. They dominate subsistence agriculture and are rather engaged in rainfed agriculture, which puts them more at risk with changing and variable climate, and have restricted access to productive resources, such as water, land, agricultural inputs, finance and credit, etc.
While they are at the forefront of the struggle for most of the water-related tasks, and play a key role in food production, few are in leadership positions in the water resources area and their participation in decision making processes on water and food management remains very low. This lack of representation by women in decision-making roles excludes them from policy making and management in the water and agricultural sectors and exacerbates the disconnection between policy and implementation.
Relevant and sustainable approaches are needed to quickly address the looming crises of water and coupled food and energy security in African countries in which water plays a central role. By coupling their scientific expertise in water and profound understanding of the challenges facing both urban and rural populations, African women scientists and engineers can provide fresh, relevant perspectives and solutions.
2016 POWWER Workshop
Following the inaugural POWWER workshop in 2015 in Windhoek, Namibia, the second POWWER workshop was held in Kigali, Rwanda in June 2016. The workshop convened African women scientists and engineers from 11 countries to discuss the key water issues in their regions of Africa and develop a set of recommendations for action. At both events all agreed that water security needs to be raised to the highest priority level around the globe and particularly in Africa where there are many policies but implementation of these policies is sorely lacking. It was also agreed that it is crucial that women at all levels, from the highest level of government to the communities and villages, be mobilized to play a more active role in making tangible gains in water security issues. A set of recommendations was developed around the themes of water quality, water storage, ecosystems, sanitation, water policy and implementation, and water sustainability.