The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) says children in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel region could die in devastating numbers unless urgent support is provided.

The organisation is currently marking World Water Week.

It says there's a direct link between severe malnutrition and the risk of water-borne diseases.

“History shows that when high levels of severe acute malnutrition in children combine with deadly outbreaks of diseases like cholera or diarrhoea, child mortality rises dramatically – and tragically.

She adds that in the Horn of Africa - Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Eritrea - as well as the Sahel region covering Senegal, southern Mauritania, the great bend of the Niger River in Mali, Burkina Faso, southern Niger, northeastern Nigeria, south-central Chad, “millions of children are just one disease away from catastrophe”.

According to Unicef, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia saw 16.3 million people going without safe water, most of them children, in July.

This is an alarming rise from 9.5 million people in February.

Water insecurity could lead to an increased risk of contracting cholera and diarrhoea. In 2017, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that 525 000 children under five had died from diarrhoea each year.

Researchers aligned with WHO say that cholera, classified as an acute diarrhoeal disease, each year has 1.3 to 4 million reported cases worldwide with an estimated 21 000 to 143 000 deaths, most of them in Africa.

Push factors

Unicef centres the blame for the water crisis in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria on drought, conflict and insecurity, which it says has led to millions of children being compromised.

“Drought, conflict and insecurity are driving water insecurity, with 40 million children facing high to extremely high levels of water vulnerability,” it said in a statement.

In some communities in the Horn of Africa, the commercialisation of water has made it a luxury that many families cannot afford.

Most people in the Horn of Africa rely on water delivered by vendors on trucks or donkey carts. In areas worst hit by drought, water is no longer affordable for many.

“Imagine having to choose between buying bread or buying water for a hungry, thirsty child who is already sick, or between watching your child suffer from extreme thirst or letting them drink contaminated water that can cause killer diseases,” says Russell.

In Kenya, the biggest economy in the Horn region, 23 out of 47 counties have experienced water price hikes of up to 400%.

Mandera, with a population of almost a million people, saw increases of up to 400%, while Garissa, with a population estimated at around half a million, experienced a 260% price hike. The figures are compared to 2021 charges.

Ethiopia has experienced one of the most severe La Niña-induced droughts in the last 40 years, following four consecutive failed rainy seasons since late 2020.

The price of water there has increased by around 50% since 2021. It's relatively better than Somalia where average water prices have climbed 85% in South-Mudug, and 55% and 75% respectively in Buurhakaba and Ceel Berde, compared to prices in January this year.

Humanitarian crisis

Unicef estimates that more than 2.8 million children across both regions are already suffering from severe acute malnutrition, “which means they are up to 11 times more at risk of dying from water-borne diseases than well-nourished children”.

Children under the age of five make up over two-thirds of those who are afflicted. In the most severely drought-affected regions of Ethiopia - Afar, Somalia, SNNP, and Oromia - Unicef and partners treated more than 1.2 million cases of diarrhoea in children under the age of five between June 2021 and June 2022.

Over 90% of open water sources, such as ponds and open wells, are either exhausted or dried up in drought-affected areas of Kenya, creating a significant risk of disease outbreaks.

The theme for this year's World Water Week is “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water”. (AFP)

•PHOTO: The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) says children in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel region could die in devastating numbers unless urgent support is provided. (Luis Tato/AFP).

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