African water companies are losing as much as 35% of their total production because of leaks, fraud and unpaid bills. This is the view of the African Water Association.

As much as 50% of the water produced in some African nations is never accounted for explains Sylvain Usher, the secretary-general of the Abidjan, Ivory Coast-based organisation. The organization collects data on 100 private and government utilities in 40 African nations. It is estimated that Africa’s population will rise 66% to 1.2 billion people by 2050, putting a strain on the world’s poorest region, which is already struggling to meet water and sanitation metrics set by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Most of the waste is results from a combination of aging equipment and poor management of facilities.