A young man skateboards as activists organize a demonstration for upcoming legislative and regional elections in Rabat, September 2021 ©AP Photo/RockedBuzz via EuronewsFor most people, it doesn’t take the recently observed World Environment Day to assume that the climate change-induced living conditions of many people in Africa from all walks of life are unjustly difficult.
However, very few of us realize that conditions are so bad that an estimated one-third of young Africans struggle to access clean water every day.
In Congo Brazzaville, 70% of young people struggle for clean water, compared with 50% of young people in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. The figures in Sudan are similar.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that more than 398 million people in Africa lack reliable access to safe drinking water.
900 million young people also lack access to adequate sanitation and a third of young people in Africa rely on bottled water. In Nigeria, this particular number nearly doubles to six out of ten.
Africa is already suffering from the effects of climate change
Half of the continent’s population aged 18 to 24 – a key component of the global collective market and its by far largest youth demographic – spend up to a quarter of their income each month on water purchases Sweet.
One in six spend more than half of their income.
African people have suffered centuries of exploitation by people from the rest of the world… but perhaps the greatest and most lasting impact will be indirect: climate change.
A man carrying water bottles walks down a dusty road in Hamanskraal, Pretoria, May 2023AP Photo/Themba HadebeThis is in stark contrast to European countries such as the UK, where the cost of a recommended 50 liters of water per day is just 0.1% of the average basic salary.
There are many reasons for this situation; after all, the people of Africa have suffered centuries of exploitation by people from the rest of the world.
But perhaps the biggest and most lasting impact will be indirect: climate change.
The most vulnerable continent in the world
It is one of the most profound ironies that raw materials extracted from Africa and then benefited in the Northern Hemisphere, which have rapidly industrialized as a result, will have a disproportionate effect on the continent from which they were taken.
The continent’s emissions account for less than 3% of the global total, but Africa is the world’s most vulnerable region.
The World Health Organization has recorded that 1.2 million Africans have been forced to flee their homes due to extreme weather conditions.
Zanzibari youth dive into the Indian Ocean from Forodhani Gardens in historic Stone Town, January 2015AP Photo/Mosa’ab ElshamyFlash floods, droughts and other dramatic weather phenomena are increasingly devastating African way of life, from coasts to inland, disrupting food and water insecurity on a continent that is already poverty-stricken in many places.
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All of this comes at a terrible cost every year: The US medical journal The Lancet reported that pollution has caused 1.1 million deaths in Africa.
The World Health Organization has recorded that 1.2 million Africans have been forced to flee their homes due to extreme weather conditions.
Young Africans understand the consequences of climate change
Sometimes, if you’re traveling through Africa, you could be forgiven for thinking that the ordinary person on the dusty road thinks little about the impact of climate change or the deeper consequences of foreign influence on their homeland.
You would be gravely mistaken if you did.
Young Africans in particular are extremely angered by the increase: 80 percent want their government to do more about climate change and want them to pursue policies that will lead their countries to become carbon neutral.
Four out of ten young Africans believe that climate change will harm them personally. Half sincerely believe that climate change will negatively affect future generations.
young men walk back from school, passing the remains of the original Residensia Magistrate’s Court building in Evaton, south Johannesburg February 2021AP Photo/Themba HadebeFour out of ten young Africans believe that climate change will harm them personally. Half sincerely believe that climate change will negatively affect future generations.
Three quarters of respondents are deeply concerned about the effects of air, water and land pollution and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
The same number are very concerned about the destruction being wrought on natural habitats and farmland, with the associated increase in crop infestation and insect pests.
Ambitions, hopes and fears of the next generation
Poaching is another problem plaguing Africa. In a sea of poverty, the illegal killing of wild animals is both a source of income and food.
In this regard, our young people are concerned about the impact of poaching on their natural heritage, with 69% believing that the practice could lead to the extinction of some species. At least half believe poaching has increased.
A child wearing a rhinoceros costume prepares to march to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES) in Sandton, Sept. 2016AP Photo/Denis FarrellIn countries like Gabon and Ghana, however, there is a real awareness of the short-term benefits of poaching, leading to dissonance about how to deal with it.
Overall, 66% of young people in Africa believe poached products should be banned, rising to 80% in countries like Kenya and Ethiopia, but in Nigeria and Sudan the figure drops to 33%.
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All these findings are contained in the second edition of the African Youth Survey (AYS), a unique insight into the ambitions, hopes and fears of young Africans that was created specifically because the study respondents, aged between 18 and 24 years, they are the next generation of African leaders and yet there has never been a poll to test what they think.
The real commitment is clearly there
What we see when we study the survey is that this next generation is neither powerless nor ignorant of the dangers facing their countries and their continent.
Instead, they are a cohort of highly motivated, highly informed, and deeply committed citizens determined to grant them a chance at a life their parents may have been denied.
What’s also critical to understand is that their commitment is much more than lip service, but rather rooted in personal commitment and activism.
Pan-African youth caravan at COP 27 led by Kenya Environmental Action Network is marching in Sham El Sheikh November 2021MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/APWe see how they will not accept fake news or empty platitudes, but will hold their leaders to account – on a wide range of different issues, with the environment being one of the key ones – for the simple reason that they are living with the consequences of decisions and acts performed by others well before they were born.
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What’s also critical to understand is that their commitment is much more than lip service, but rather rooted in personal commitment and activism.
Two thirds of them actively support, participate in or donate to environmental causes, led by young people in Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda. The same percentage are actively working to reduce their carbon footprint.
There is no time to lose
But that’s not all: Africa doesn’t have the time to wait for young people to become leaders in their own right.
After World Environment Day, this should instead be a clear appeal to progressive companies that want to invest in Africa and to institutions engaged in the continent. There is a wave of support waiting in the wings, ready to be harnessed for the good of all.
As they say in Africa: if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.
If Europe and the world are serious about helping Africa, they must work with young people, where they will find fertile ground to plant the seeds of change.
Ivor Ichikowitz is an African industrialist and philanthropist. He chairs the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which conceptualized and funds the African Youth Survey.
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