WATER supply in Zimbabwe has remained critically low as millions of people face the brunt of the El Niño-induced drought, the United State Agency for International Development’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FewsNet) has said.
This comes amid indications that the decrease in rainfall due to the El Niño effects is likely to exacerbate water scarcity in the country.
According to United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) latest report, a staggering 860 757 Zimbabweans lack access to safe drinking water, while 17% of households are forced to travel long distances to fetch water for their daily needs.
“Water access and availability are becoming increasingly critical through the dry season, affecting household engagement in livelihood activities across all typical low rainfall areas, as well as some high rainfall areas in the north and the eastern border areas,” Unicef said.
“Households and livestock are primarily dependent on water from boreholes, but the increased demand and overuse of boreholes, a main source of water in most communities, is resulting in a high number of them drying up or breaking down due to mechanical faults.”
The humanitarian organisation further indicated that in some areas, households have to travel further away to access water, which reduces their opportunity to engage in other livelihood activities such as accessing food or income.
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“However, water access and availability are expected to improve due to the anticipated average and timely start to the 2024/25 rainy season, with the emergence of La Niña ENSO conditions in August-October,” FewsNet said.
Government has since allayed fears of water shortages in the country, revealing that Zimbabwe has sufficient water reserves, particularly in urban areas.
Early this month, acting leader of government business in the National Assembly, Higher and Tertiary Education minister Amon Murwira said the country had adequate water supplies, but the challenge lied in delivery of water to households.
He said government’s priority was to revamp the conveyancing system to ensure a steady supply of water to towns and cities, despite the prevailing drought conditions.