For millions across Africa, access to clean drinking water is often discussed as a question of infrastructure, climate change, or poverty. But during a powerful panel discussion at the NGOs Forum in Banjul, human rights advocates and experts argued that another deeply rooted factor continues to determine who has access to water and sanitation — discrimination.

The panel, titled “Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation for Communities Discriminated based on Work and Descent (CDWD): Between Structural Exclusion, Violation of Dignity, and the Imperative of Social Justice in Africa,” examined how generations of social exclusion continue to deny marginalised communities their most basic human rights.

Held during the Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the 87th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), organised by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), the discussion brought together activists, researchers, artists, and human rights defenders determined to expose inequalities often ignored in national conversations about development.

Moderating the session, Naji Moulaye Lasen explained that the panel aimed to confront the hidden realities behind water and sanitation systems across Africa.

According to him, access to water is not always determined by geography or income alone, but also by entrenched systems of social hierarchy and exclusion that continue to affect communities discriminated against based on work and descent.

“These systems can either perpetuate discrimination or dismantle it,” he stressed, referring to water governance structures and public service delivery mechanisms across the continent.

The discussion unfolded against the broader backdrop of this year’s NGO Forum theme: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.”

But while continental frameworks often emphasise universal access to water and sanitation, panellists argued that many marginalised communities remain invisible within national policies and development planning.

Senior Rights Expert on Communities Discriminated based on Work and Descent (CDWD), Cheikh Sidati Hamadi, delivered a sobering assessment of the situation across several African countries.

He acknowledged that access to water is internationally recognised as a human right, yet warned that reality on the ground tells a different story for many excluded communities.

“These inequalities are not only the result of poverty or geography,” he explained. “They are also shaped by entrenched social structures that systematically exclude communities discriminated against based on work and descent.”

Drawing examples from Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and The Gambia, Mr. Hamadi described how certain communities continue to face barriers in accessing public water points, sanitation facilities, and basic public services due to inherited social status and discrimination.

In some communities, he explained, people considered to belong to “lower” social groups are denied equal access to shared wells, excluded from public infrastructure planning, or forced to live in settlements lacking basic sanitation systems.

The consequences, panellists noted, extend beyond physical hardship.
Lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation often reinforces cycles of poverty, exclusion, disease, and social stigma, while also affecting education, health, and economic opportunities.
For women and girls, the burden is even heavier.

Ali Camara, Rights Expert for GFoD and a Member of the Gambana Community in Koina, Upper River Region of the Gambia, spoke emotionally about the lived experiences of marginalised communities that struggle daily to secure clean water.

“For many communities, water is something assumed to be available,” he stated. “For us, it is uncertain and often unavailable.”

He described how women and girls in excluded communities are often forced to travel long distances to fetch water, exposing them to insecurity, physical exhaustion, and lost educational opportunities.

According to Mr. Camara, conversations about water access cannot be separated from questions of justice and equality.

“Access to safe water and dignified sanitation is not only about infrastructure,” he said. “It is about equality, dignity, and rights.”

His remarks highlighted a central theme running throughout the panel: that the denial of water is also the denial of dignity.

For multidisciplinary artist and advocate Sira Ndongo from Mauritania, whose intervention brought emotion and urgency into the room. Standing before participants, she challenged systems that continue to attach social value and human worth to inherited identities and caste-like structures.

“Water does not choose caste,” she declared. “We are not asking, we are demanding justice.”

Her words drew strong reactions from participants as she connected the struggle for water access to broader battles for recognition, equality, and human dignity across Africa.

“Water for all is not a privilege,” she said. “It is a right and the foundation of life.”

Beyond exposing inequalities, the panel also focused on solutions.
Speakers called on African governments and regional institutions to strengthen inclusive water governance systems that recognise the realities of marginalised communities.

Among the key recommendations were the need for governments to collect disaggregated social data to better understand inequalities, formally recognise marginalised settlements often excluded from public services, and ensure that national WASH policies address structural discrimination.

Participants also stressed the importance of involving affected communities directly in policy development and decision-making processes.

For many delegates attending the session, the discussion revealed how access to water in Africa remains deeply tied to larger questions of social justice and human rights.

As conversations around sustainable development and Agenda 2063 continue across the continent, panelists warned that progress will remain incomplete if structural discrimination is ignored.

Because for the communities at the centre of the discussion, the struggle is not simply about reaching the nearest water source.
It is about being recognised as equal citizens deserving of dignity, inclusion, and fundamental human rights.

Author: Halimatou Ceesay