The climate crisis has dramatically worsened water scarcity in Eastern and Southern Africa over the past few decades, leaving nearly 116 million people –or 40 percent of the population – without safe drinking water, according to a new Oxfam report.
Climate change is supercharging extreme weather events like droughts, cyclones, and flash floods, and has led to the disappearance of more than 90 percent of Africa’s tropical glaciers and the depletion of groundwater. This has had knock-on effects on Africa’s small-scale farmers, pastoralists, and fisherpersons leaving millions without basic food, drinking water or income.
Oxfam’s report –Water-Driven Hunger: How the Climate Crisis Fuels Africa’s Food Emergency – published ahead of World Water Day, looked at the links between water scarcity and hunger in eight of the world’s worst water crises: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It found that the number of people experiencing extreme hunger in those countries has surged by nearly 80 percent over the past five years – reaching over 55 million in 2024, up from nearly 31 million in 2019. That is two in every ten persons.
The report warns that the La Niña weather pattern, which will last through this month, will worsen floods in swaths of Southern Africa and South Sudan while causing severe drought in East Africa further threatening people’s food availability and income.
Globally, flash floods have become 20 times more frequent between 2000 and 2022 and the duration of droughts has risen by 29% since 2000, impacting the most vulnerable communities.
Existing poverty, deep inequality, and chronic under-investment along with poor governance in water systems have compounded this climate-fuelled water crisis. African governments are currently meeting less than half the US$50 billion annual investment target required to achieve water security in Africa by 2030.
Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Oxfam in Africa Director said: “The climate crisis is not a mere statistic—it has a human face. It affects real people whose livelihoods are being destroyed, while the main contributors to this crisis—big polluters and super-rich—continue to profit. Meanwhile, national governments neglect to support the very communities they should protect.”
The Oxfam report also found that:
- In the eight countries studied, 91 percent of small-scale farmers depend almost entirely on rainwater for drinking and farming.
- In Ethiopia, food insecurity has soared by 175 percent over the past five years, with 22 million people struggling to find their next meal.
- In Kenya, over 136,000 square kilometers of land have become drier between 1980 and 2020, which has decimated crops and livestock.
- In Somalia, one failed rainy season is pushing one million more people into crisis-level hunger, raising the total to 4.4 million—24% of the population.
A farmer from Baidoa, Somalia explains: “In the past, we knew when to farm and when to harvest but that has all changed. The rains now come late or not at all. Last year, I lost all my crops and animals. I have now planted, but the rains have still not come. If this continues, I will not be able to feed my family.”
Deep inequalities mean that disadvantaged people like women and girls are too often the first and most severely punished by this water crisis. In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, women and girls walk up to 10 kilometers in search of water, facing violence and extreme exhaustion. Many women and girls in rural households spend hours each day collecting water—time that could otherwise be spent on education or income generation.
“At the heart of this climate crisis lies a justice crisis. Sub-Saharan Africa receives only 3-4 percent of global climate finance, despite being heavily affected by climate change. Rich polluting nations must pay their fair share. It’s not about charity, it’s about justice. African governments must also double down on their investment in water infrastructures and social protection to effectively manage natural resources, and help the most vulnerable communities cope with climatic shocks,” added N’Zi-Hassane.
