Securing Africa’s Future Water Needs | CSIS Video Report

Check out this latest video report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies! David Michel discusses how the region can build sustainable and resilient water systems for all by leveraging infrastructure, investment, information-sharing, and institutions in concert.

From the Sahel to South Africa, 845 million people lack safely managed drinking water, and over 900 million do not have access to safely managed sanitation services. Inadequate water and sanitation services degrade public health, undermine food security, and sap economic growth.

With the pressures on the continent’s water supplies rising alongside its growing population and economies, the future of this region depends on solving its water resource challenges. To ensure safe and reliable water services to the people of Sub-Saharan Africa, it is imperative that governments, service providers, donors and development funders, and communities work together to forge deliberate, integrated approaches to water security. By leveraging infrastructure, investment, information-sharing, and institutions in concert, the region can build sustainable and resilient water systems for all.

The Coming Water Wars: Technology’s Unseen Role in a Growing Crisis sharpens the security implications of Africa’s water challenge by framing water scarcity as a driver of future conflict rather than a purely developmental concern. The article argues that emerging technological demands, particularly from data centers, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure, introduce new and often invisible pressures that can push already fragile water systems toward instability. Read alongside this discussion of Africa’s water insecurity, it reinforces the need to treat water resilience as a strategic imperative that intersects with governance, economic competition, and long-term security planning.