As Africa faces the escalating challenges of droughts, floods, and water insecurity, ministers and leaders from across the continent are coming together in preparation for the 2025 Sector Ministers’ Meeting (SMM), scheduled for October 22-23 in Madrid, Spain. This crucial summit is co-convened by the Government of Spain, UNICEF, and the Sanitation and Water for…
Water scarcity in Africa is a crisis, and the GERD conflict shows why mutually beneficial cooperation agreements are vital. Ethiopia officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile river in the week of September when the country hosted the second African Climate Summit. The occasion was one of great celebration, national…
No, soaking your right hand in cold water won’t cure your headache; ignore social media claims IN SHORT: Social media posts claiming that soaking your hand in cold water for five minutes will make headaches “disappear” are circulating on Facebook. But what little research there is says this may make your headaches worse. A Facebook…
Key findings Lived poverty and lack of access to water are strongly linked but not perfectly aligned. Clean, piped, and on-compound water access all decrease as lived poverty increases. However, a notable minority of respondents with no lived poverty do lack access to clean water (15%) and piped water (27%), and 20% must collect water…
Luanda — Angolan and National Geographic researchers have confirmed the existence of one of the largest water towers in southern Africa in Angola’s central highlands, where major rivers such as the Zambezi, Kwanza, and Congo originate. The Vice President, Esperança da Costa, announced this on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the Southern African Science…
Each September, world leaders gather at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to set the tone for global priorities. This year’s 80th UNGA saw Heads of State and Government highlight conflicts, climate, and economic instability. Encouragingly, a growing number also spoke about water and sanitation — though still far fewer than the urgency demands. From…
The consultative “2+2” mechanism meeting of the foreign and irrigation ministers of Egypt and Sudan reaffirmed that the water security of both countries is indivisible, reiterating their outright rejection of any unilateral measures in the Eastern Nile Basin that could undermine their water interests. In a joint statement following the meeting, held on Wednesday 3,September…
Artificial intelligence systems are thirsty, consuming as much as 500 milliliters of water – a single-serving water bottle – for each short conversation a user has with the GPT-3 version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT system. They use roughly the same amount of water to draft a 100-word email message. That figure includes the water used to…
A new report launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF during World Water Week 2025 has revealed that billions of people around the world remain without access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, exposing vulnerable communities to disease, poverty, and deepening inequalities. The report on Progress on Household Drinking Water and…
Africa remains at the epicenter of the global water crisis, as a new United Nations report has revealed that more than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely managed drinking water. The joint study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), released Tuesday, warned that despite progress…
