Are African water wars' on the horizon as AU puts the issue on its agenda?

"From deadly Cyclone Gezani in Madagascar and surging waterborne disease risks across flood-affected Mozambique, to parched land and herds of dead livestock along the Kenya-Somalia border, the continent is starting 2026 under siege from waterlinked climate shocks just as African leaders gather for a summit that puts the precious resource at the centre of its agenda. On paper, the African Union's choice of water as its 2026 summit theme with a focus on water as a vital resource for life, development and sustainability appears apolitical."

"Water is life, said Sanusha Naidu, a foreign policy analyst at the South African think tank, the Institute for Global Dialogue. But it's not just that water is life water is becoming a commodity of corporatisation and access. It is a humanitarian conflict. It is a climate change conflict. It's a peace and security issue. Although worsening climate change and the strain it puts on resources is a main pressure point,"

Africa is entering 2026 facing water-linked climate shocks including Cyclone Gezani in Madagascar, waterborne disease risks in flood-affected Mozambique, and drought-driven livestock deaths along the Kenya-Somalia border. The African Union has declared water its 2026 summit theme with focus on water as vital for life, development and sustainability. Water scarcity and shifting patterns are generating political tensions through upstream-downstream disputes over shared rivers, industry appropriation of water, and the use of water as a weapon in conflict. Corporatisation of water access is intensifying humanitarian, climate and peace-and-security challenges. Interlinked factors are creating a vicious cycle of resource stress, health risks and social unrest.

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