Water and Sanitation for Peace, Energy, and Food Security

This policy brief advocates for treating water and sanitation as strategic assets to ensure peace, energy, and food security in Africa. It calls for the adoption of a Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus approach and Strategic Asset Management (SAM) to address a $1 trillion infrastructure gap by 2040. The brief emphasizes that water insecurity acts as a threat multiplier for conflict, particularly in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, and recommends integrating water governance into the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) to mitigate risks and promote regional stability.

• The African Union Assembly adopted the African Water Vision 2063 (AWV2063) in February 2026, which shifts the perception of water and sanitation from sectoral development concerns to "strategic assets" intended to catalyze goals such as poverty eradication, food security, and regional integration.
• Africa faces a significant water infrastructure investment gap, with a need of just over $1 trillion by 2040. In sub-Saharan Africa, poor sanitation and insufficient water investment result in an annual GDP loss of approximately 5%, or $170 billion, while current annual investments of $10-$19 billion fall far short of the $64 billion required to meet the 2025 Africa Water Vision.
• Climate change acts as a "threat multiplier" in Africa, increasing the frequency of flooding (400 to 600 events per year in the last decade) and the severity of droughts, which affected over 25 million people in 2024. These "dry shocks" reduce GDP by an average of 0.39% for moderate events and 0.85% for extreme droughts.
• Water insecurity is a driver of conflict in Africa, with water-related conflicts increasing by 154% between 2019 and 2023. Risks are most acute in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and parts of North and Central Africa, where competition for resources is intensified by climate variability and demographic pressure.
• The document proposes a Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus approach to replace sectoral silos, noting that agriculture accounts for about 70% of global freshwater withdrawals and food production consumes roughly 30% of global energy. This approach is presented as more effective for attracting private investment and blended finance.
• Transboundary water management is critical as 90% of Africa's surface water is located in 63 shared river and lake basins. The brief highlights the Lake Chad Basin, where 30 million people depend on shared resources, as an example of a "conflict-climate risk trap."
• The brief recommends integrating water governance as a dedicated pillar within the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). This would involve incorporating hydrological and climate data into the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) to prevent water-related conflicts and leverage shared resources for peacebuilding.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2026). Water and Sanitation for Peace, Energy, and Food Security. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1779794893510-2026-05-26-water-sanitation-ads-pb.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Water and Sanitation for Peace, Energy, and Food Security. 2026. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1779794893510-2026-05-26-water-sanitation-ads-pb.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Water and Sanitation for Peace, Energy, and Food Security |date=2026 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1779794893510-2026-05-26-water-sanitation-ads-pb.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2026water, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Water and Sanitation for Peace, Energy, and Food Security}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1779794893510-2026-05-26-water-sanitation-ads-pb.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }