places in africa that dont have clean water
Water scarcity in Africa Africa's susceptibility to potential water-induced conflict can be separated into four regions: the Nile, Niger, Zambezi, and Volta basins.[14] Running through Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, the Nile's water has the potential to spark conflict and unrest.[14] In the region of the Niger, the river basin extends from Guinea through Mali and down to Nigeria. Especially for Mali – one of the world's poorest countries – the river is vital for food, water and transportation, and its over usage is contributing to an increasingly polluted and unusable water source.[14] In southern Africa, the Zambezi river basin is one of the world's most over-used river systems, and so Zambia and Zimbabwe compete fiercely over it. Additionally, in 2000, Zimbabwe caused the region to experience the worst flooding in recent history when the country opened the Kariba Dam gates.[14] Finally, within the Volta river basin, Ghana is dependent on its hydroelectric output, but plagued by regular droughts which effect the production of electricity from the Akosombo Dam and limit Ghana's ability to sustain economic growth. Paired with the constraints this also puts on Ghana's ability to provide power for the area, this could potentially contribute to regional instability.[14]
Water distribution on Earth The planet's fresh water is also very unevenly distributed. Although in warm periods such as the Mesozoic and Paleogene when there were no glaciers anywhere on the planet all fresh water was found in rivers and streams, today most fresh water exists in the form of ice, snow, groundwater and soil moisture, with only 0.3% in liquid form on the surface. Of the liquid surface fresh water, 87% is contained in lakes, 11% in swamps, and only 2% in rivers. Small quantities of water also exist in the atmosphere and in living beings. Of these sources, only river water is generally valuable.