Introduction: the importance of water

Water is a necessity. It is no wonder that the greatest civilisations on Earth have been based around or near water, which would not only provide drink and irrigation to maintain a population, but also transportation links. Today, water continues to form a central element of countless human activities, such as irrigation, and industrial and domestic uses. Domestic water usage includes drinking, food preparation, bathing and washing, and it is here that the relationship between water and sanitation becomes most obvious.

Sanitation relates to the provision of clean water, sewage infrastructure and prevention of disease. About 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water and over 2.6 billion do not have access to basic sanitation. The United Nations 64^th General Assembly adopted safe drinking water and sanitation as a right, since it is ‘indispensable for leading a life in human dignity’. The Assembly recognises that equitable access to safe water and sanitation is a necessary prerequisite for achieving other human rights (UN 2010: 2). Quality, access and distribution are essential factors that must be taken into account when analysing the issues of water “shortages”; global water quantity in itself is not the issue at stake. In the 21^st century, water shortages will connect some of the most pressing problems on our planet, from poverty reduction and public health to energy production and ecosystem conservation (Vorosmarty et al. 2005).

In this blog, I will discuss multiple issues and literature within the broad topic of water and sanitation, looking specifically at the African continent. According to Tucker et al. (2014), not enough is known about water access, availability and sources, or how these vary over time and space for many households in Africa. Yet, these matters are key to answering health and livelihood questions, not just in Africa but worldwide.