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From Idu Jude, Abuja
As Nigeria joins other countries of the World to mark World Water Day 2025, a coalition, ‘Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition’’ (OWORAC), has called for urgent action to safeguard Africa’s water resources from the twin threats of climate change and water privatization.
In a statement released over the weekend, the coalition called on African governments to protect water as a public good, warning against the growing trend of treating water as a market commodity. It decried attempts to justify water privatization under the guise of climate adaptation.
Part of the statement reads: “This year’s theme, ‘Glacier Preservation’, spotlights the punishing impacts of climate change on global freshwater reserves. But the message must be clear that the climate crisis is no excuse to hand over our water to corporations.”
OWORAC noted that rising global temperatures, largely driven by reckless extractivism and lack of corporate accountability, are already severely affecting freshwater availability across Africa. As such, allowing profit-driven models to control water supply would only deepen inequality and worsen access for vulnerable populations.
“Africa’s water crisis is already at a tipping point with over 1.3 billion Africans facing water insecurity every day. The glaciers that feed our rivers and sustain life are melting at alarming rates, threatening water security for millions,” the coalition said.
“The melting of glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro, the Rwenzori Mountains, and Mount Kenya, which feed vital rivers like the Nile, Congo, and others, will exacerbate droughts, food insecurity, and water stress for millions across the continent. In Africa, where entire communities depend on freshwater sources fed by mountain glaciers and seasonal flows, this crisis will not only intensify water shortages but also worsen social inequality. For those who already struggle to access clean and affordable water, the effects of climate change will be catastrophic, unless urgent action is taken.”
The coalition drew a direct link between the worsening climate crisis and the growing push for water privatization, calling them two sides of the same coin.
“As glaciers recede and freshwater becomes more scarce, corporations and financial institutions are exploiting this crisis as an opportunity to entrench profit-driven models of water management,” OWORAC said.
“The push for corporate control schemes such as so-called public-private partnerships (PPPs), water concessions, and bulk water purchase agreements across Africa has never been more prominent as African governments systematically cede control of water systems to profit-oriented entities. This has led to escalating water tariffs, reduced public oversight, and water cutoffs for non-payment, denying vulnerable populations access to a basic human right.”
The pro-public water coalition warned that privatization is not a solution to climate-induced water scarcity, arguing instead for long-term, publicly funded solutions.
“If climate change is shrinking our water sources, then African governments must act decisively to expand and protect public water systems, not privatize them. The argument proffered by privatization advocates, where they posit that increased private sector investment into the water sector is an appropriate response to climate-induced water scarcity, is flawed,” the coalition said.
The statement cited past failures of water privatization in countries such as Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, Mozambique, Gabon, and Tanzania as evidence that applying market models to essential services is not only ineffective but harmful to marginalized communities
