Seychelles dey lead Africa for water matter as Morocco show strong performance

New research from Afrobarometer don show say Seychelles na one of di top African kontris wey dey perform well for water and sanitation matter. According to di survey wey cover 38 African kontris, Seychelles get 99% of pipo wey get toilet inside dia house, and only 1% of Seychellois pipo see water supply as serious problem for dia kontri.

Morocco also dey show strong performance for water infrastructure across Africa. Di North African kingdom get 95% of enumeration areas wey get piped water system wey most households fit access. Only Mauritius wey get 100% surpass am. For sewage infrastructure, Morocco lead Africa with 82% of surveyed communities wey get sewage system, follow by Tunisia with 67%.

Inside Moroccan houses, di picture dey clear: 88% of Moroccan respondents report say dem get main water source inside dia house, and 94% get toilet facilities inside di home. Seychelles lead dis category with 99% of pipo wey get toilet inside house, follow by Mauritius with 97%.

Water shortage dey rare for Morocco compared to oda parts of Africa. Only 3% of Moroccan respondents say dem no get enough clean water “many times” or “always” during di previous year. Dis na di lowest figure across all 38 kontris wey dem survey. About 68% of Moroccans report say dem never experience water shortage at all.

Di results explain why only 3% of Moroccan citizens mention water supply as one of di most important problems wey dey face dia kontri. Dis na di second-lowest rate for Africa, just above Seychelles with 1%. Across di kontinent, di average stand at 23%.

Morocco government also get relatively strong marks from dia citizens. About 61% of Moroccan respondents rate dia government handling of water and sanitation as “fairly well” or “very well.” Di 38-kontri average na just 39%. Approval of Moroccan government performance for dis area rise by 12 percentage points between 2014/2015 and 2024/2025 survey rounds.

Access to toilet facilities also improve for Morocco. Di share of Moroccan households wey no get any access to toilet or latrine drop by 4 percentage points over di same ten years.

However, one area of concern come out. Despite strong infrastructure, Morocco record one of di highest rates of climate-related water stress for di kontinent. About 47% of Moroccan respondents say dia families don reduce dia water consumption or change dia water sources over di past five years because of changing weather patterns. Dis put Morocco fourth among di 38 surveyed kontris, behind Tunisia with 55%, Guinea with 51%, and Guinea-Bissau with 50%.

Di kontinent at large dey face far more serious reality. Di findings come as African Union declare 2026 as “Year of Water Sustainability.” For February, AU for di first time make water and sanitation di central theme of dia annual summit. Di kontinental body adopt Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy framework wey aim to accelerate infrastructure investment, strengthen climate resilience, and present unified African position at di 2026 United Nations Water Conference for December.

Di urgency dey clear. More than 400 million Africans still no get access to safe drinking water. More than 700 million dey live without basic sanitation. World Bank approve $1.58 billion to support climate-resilient water supply, sanitation, and hygiene services across 12 kontris for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Across di 38 kontris wey dem survey, water supply rank as di third most important problem citizens want dia governments to address, mention by 23% of respondents. E dey follow only health with 38% and unemployment with 33%, tie with education, rising cost of living, and infrastructure.

Water na di single most mention problem for Guinea with 57%, Chad with 53%, Benin with 42%, and Mozambique with 38%. E rank second for Sierra Leone with 47%, Congo-Brazzaville with 37%, Tanzania with 36%, and Zambia with 35%.

Demand for government action on water dey far more pronounced for rural areas with 29% than for cities with 16%. Respondents wey dey experience high lived poverty dey four times as likely as well-off citizens to consider water supply as urgent problem wey need action, with 33% compared to 8%.

For ground level, more than half of Africans – 57% – report say dia household no get enough clean water at least once during di year before di survey. Quarter say dis happen “many times” or “always.” Shortages affect more than eight in ten households for Gabon with 84%, Chad with 83%, and Mauritania with 82%.

Frequent water shortages dey particularly common for Gabon with 52%, Guinea with 46%, and Angola with 40%. Di trend dey worsen. Across 28 kontris wey dem survey consistently since 2014/2015, di share of respondents wey dey experience water shortages at least once rise from 46% to 56%. Those wey dey face frequent shortages increase from 19% to 24%.

Infrastructure gaps still dey serious. Only 52% of communities wey Afrobarometer teams visit get piped water systems wey most households fit access. Dat figure drop below one-fourth for Angola with 24%, Guinea with 23%, Nigeria with 16%, Sierra Leone with 15%, and Liberia with 9%.

Where Africans dey get dia water dey vary just as widely. About half of Africans – 49% – rely mainly on piped public or community water systems for household use. Anoda 20% depend on boreholes or tubewells, 18% on dug wells, and 5% on surface water.

Urban residents dey more than twice as likely as rural ones to get piped water with 67% versus 31%. Well-off citizens enjoy piped water at more than double di rate of di poorest with 77% versus 34%.

Nearly half of respondents with 48% must go outside dia compound to access water. For 21 kontris, dis na di majority experience. Uganda with 87%, Sierra Leone with 86%, and Liberia with 84% get di highest rates.

Sanitation infrastructure dey even more limited. Only 25% of surveyed communities get sewage systems. Dat figure drop to just 2% for Mauritania and The Gambia. One-third of Africans with 34% get toilets inside dia houses. Anoda 38% get facilities outside di dwelling but within di compound.

One in five with 20% rely on toilets outside di compound, and 8% no get access to any toilet or latrine at all. Di share of households wey no get toilet access no change over di past ten years on di 30-kontri average.

Government performance ratings reflect di scale of di challenge. Six in ten respondents with 60% across di 38 kontris say dia government dey handle water and sanitation “fairly badly” or “very badly.” Majorities for 28 of 38 kontris hold dis view. Congo-Brazzaville with 90% and Nigeria with 87% record di most negative assessments.

Only 10 kontris get majority approval, lead by Seychelles with 69% and Malawi with 66%. Some kontris make major strides. Senegal record di largest jump in approval, with 23 percentage points. Tanzania and Mali each gain 21 points. But approval drop sharply for Namibia with -32 points, São Tomé and Príncipe with -28 points, Mauritius with -27 points, and South Africa with -25 points.

Di Afrobarometer Round 10 analysis dey based on 50,961 face-to-face interviews wey dem conduct across di 38 kontris for 2024 and 2025. Morocco fieldwork take place for February and March 2024.