Dr. Nader Noureddine, Professor of Water and Land at Cairo University, presents to Sky News Arabia examples of urgent and long-term efforts to save the largest number of lives from the repercussions of climate change in these countries, especially droughts, devastating floods and water pollution..
Triple threat
According to an analysis published by the organization on its website, under the title “A triple threat of water-related crises that endangers the lives of 190 million children”, that:
- This triple threat is highest in: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Somalia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire; This makes West and Central Africa one of the regions most affected by water insecurity and most vulnerable to climate change.
- The water crisis in these countries is exacerbated by armed conflicts within them and political instability.
- In all of these countries, a third of children lack access to basic water services, at least in their homes.
- Two-thirds of children lack basic sanitation services, a quarter of children have no choice but to defecate in the open, and hand hygiene is almost non-existent, as three-quarters of children are unable to wash their hands due to lack of water and soap.
- These countries bear the brunt of child deaths from diseases arising from lack of water, sanitation and hygiene services, such as diarrheal disease and cholera..
- Six of these 10 countries faced cholera outbreaks last year, and while a thousand children under the age of five die every day worldwide due to diseases due to lack of water services, 2-5 deaths occur in these countries alone..
- All 10 of these countries are classified, according to the OECD scale, as fragile or highly fragile..
- Pressures arising from armed conflicts in some countries threaten to reverse progress towards safe water and sanitation services.
Adaptation challenges“
Dr. Nader Noureddine, Professor of Water and Land at Cairo University and strategic expert at the General Assembly of the United Nations Food Organization (FAO), says about the United Nations efforts to mitigate the repercussions of the drought. The World Food Program requested relief for West African countries, especially as they are densely populated.
As for solutions in the medium and long term, the FAO expert believes that it is currently difficult to benefit from “adaptation” and “confrontation” programs (such as those related to changing the agricultural pattern and improving crop strains) to overcome the drought crisis. Because it needs capital and international support, and he says that urgent relief through the World Food Program is the possible solution now to help the population withstand until the severity of the drought recedes.
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