Researchers Predict Water Scarcity Will Get Worse

Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
02 Nov 2003, 18:12 UTC

The scarcity of water around the world is only going to get worse, as demand grows, according to
researchers meeting in Kenya.

Members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research warn that fewer and
fewer people around the globe will have access to clean, safe water, if governments and
organizations fail to address the problem of water scarcity.

An official with the U.S.-based International Food Policy Research Institute, Mark Rosegrant, said
water infrastructure and management systems in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, are inadequate to
keep up with household demand for water, which is expected to double within the next 20 years, or
so. "The number of people without access to clean water will increase dramatically, from about 150
million now to just over 400 million by 2025. On the food side, we're seeing [that] we're likely to
have an increase in the number of malnourished children in sub-Saharan Africa, from about 33
million now to 37 million in 2025," he said.

Mr. Rosegrant said water scarcity is estimated to cut Africa's crop yields by 25 percent within the
next 20 years or so.

But the water problem is not just restricted to scarcity. A senior official in Kenya's Ministry of
Water Resources and Management, George Krhoda, explains that the massive flooding in the
country earlier this year cost the Kenyan economy an estimated $48 million, or 0.6 percent of the
country's Gross Domestic Product.

He said the floods, as well as droughts, cause frequent and widespread power shortages in Kenya.

These and other problems were highlighted at a news conference Sunday, and are expected to be
discussed more fully during a five-day conference being held in Nairobi.

The event marks the launch of the Challenge Program on Water and Food, a new initiative from the
consultative group to study the problem of water scarcity around the globe.

Fifty research proposals have already been approved under the $60 million initiative, which is being
funded by 64 governments and institutions, including the World Bank. Officials are trying to raise
$120 million within the next six years.