Groundwater and Health: Meeting Unmet Needs in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Groundwater plays a vital role in both human life and ecosystem. All over the world, industrial development, agriculture and human existence and health depend on the availability of good quality water in sufficient quantity. In Africa groundwater is a critical resource: Nearly 80% of the continent’s population uses groundwater as its main source of drinking water – but in many parts of the region reaching basic water requirements for health is still of concern. This is reflected by the high Human Poverty Index, which is a function of access to adequate and potable water. There is considerable progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa with regard to meeting basic water and sanitation needs; thus, the effects on human health face a downward trend. However, records of health cases relating to consumption of groundwater in some part of Africa calls for increased attention if the MDGs are to be achieved. In this chapter, cases of groundwater quality, particularly drinking water supply, have been reviewed in relation to human health. Case histories are taken mainly from West–Central Africa and East Africa to illustrate the fact that there are unmet needs in health traceable to groundwater quality and inadequacies in water supply.