Hundreds of millions of African citizens are affected on a daily basis by extreme water Scarcity and drought. Cities, villages, agriculture, industries and the environment are all seriously impacted by prolonged droughts.

Rising water demands and the impact of climate change are likely to intensify over the coming years unless action is taken. Decisive action is required to counter water scarcity and drought in Africa, and this requires both government policy and private entrepreneurship.

The adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals provides the perfect opportunity to take on the major water issues facing Africa, but in order to do this, new synergies must be found and intervention efforts must be coordinated. Governments must focus on the fundamental role water will play in achieving national development priorities.

There must be a concerted effort for coordination between ministries with dedicated strategies and action plans at national and sub-national levels. Water must be connected to the major sectors and interests that drive African economies, such as agriculture, energy, and the urban, industrial and service sectors. It is critical that the existing public water policies, regulation and investment strategies are reviewed against the SDGs and in the light of adaptation to climate change.

Sustainable Development Goal 6.4 has identified water scarcity as a major global priority, and where before governments generally responded to water scarcity and drought through building infrastructure to store water and augment supplies, a new approach is required. Drought management is not merely about new infrastructure and technologies, but progressively about water demand-management, effective water allocation policies and incentives; about managing demand as well as improving supply and about constructing systems that are generically resilient to drought and scarcity.

The Australian Water Partnership, the Government of Australia and the International Water Association are organising the Water Scarcity and Drought Summit (10 October, 2016) in Brisbane, as part of the World Water Congress and Exhibition, which will bring together top government officials, industry leaders, policy makers, leading practitioners, and civil society leaders to discuss fresh to help in the fight against water scarcity and drought.

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