The Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa: a key tool for sustainable wastewater management

Africa is home to 15% of the world’s population, and its urban inhabitants are expected to quadruple in 20 year’s time. With only 9% of global renewable waters, unevenly distributed across the continent, the pressure on the existing water resources of Africa is increasing, and the gap between water availability and demand is rapidly growing.

In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 300 million people still lack access to improved drinking water sources, while almost 700 million do not have access to basic sanitation. Lack of adequate infrastructure for collection and treatment of wastewater, combined with high organic loads, unregulated waste inputs, high energy costs, increasing wastewater flow rates, and lack of investments are among the major challenges of wastewater management and sanitation provision across Africa.

Against this background, it is important to maximize the use of unconventional water resources such as wastewater. In this regard, Africa is home to good practices and virtuous examples. These encompass the use of nature-based solutions to treat wastewater; and the use of treated fecal sludge and wastewater for irrigation and afforestation.

There is an urgent need to ameliorate the current trends around wastewater management and sanitation provision across the continent. In many cases, the interest in wastewater management and sanitation remains weak and there is a vague understanding of the gaps, challenges, and opportunities related to this sector across the key stakeholders. For this reason, in 2016 the African Development Bank (AfDB), GRID-Arendal, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) joined forces and launched a four-year project aimed at better understanding the current situation related to wastewater management and sanitation across the African continent.

The Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa is the flagship product. The Atlas, launched on 2 February 2021, consists of different chapters focusing on various aspects of wastewater management, including for example ecosystems, human health, policies, and circular economy, and has a section with detailed country profiles. It is a tool that will help policymakers and the wide public across Africa and beyond to better understand and address the current gaps, and opportunities in this sector.

In order to share the key messages and findings of the Atlas, on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 October 2021, the African Development Bank, GRID-Arendal, United Nations Environment Programme, and the African Ministers’ Council on Water are collaborating to host a two-day workshop on the Sanitation and Wastewater Atlas of Africa.

This event will have a live translation in English, French, and Arabic using the Interactio online platform.

To register for this event, click here to fill out the RSVP form.

To join the event (Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 October 2021, 12:00-14:00, GMT +3, 2021) click here.