Daily Times

Khadidjatou Taher has lived for a decade in her ramshackle neighbourhood on the far outskirts of Mauritania’s capital, but is yet to have running water in her home.

Created around 15 years ago to tackle uncontrolled building in Nouakchott, the Tarhil district is one of many areas in the vast desert state in northwest Africa where water access poses a daily challenge. “There’s a terrible lack of water in Tarhil,” said 42-year-old Taher, wearing a long traditional robe known as a meulfeu. Authorities have installed a few tanks in the streets and set up a replacement system with water tankers. But “they don’t come every day and the quantities distributed are insufficient for our families and our animals”, she said.

Rampant urbanisation is driving up the sand dune-surrounded neighbourhood’s population. While some households have access to running water, others rarely receive it or are not connected to the distribution network. Access to drinking water is an ever-pressing challenge for Mauritania, where temperatures regularly rise to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit). More than 22 percent of the population is deprived of drinking water, one of the lowest availability rates in the world, according to UNICEF.

The already challenging situation in Tarhil has deteriorated since August, when Nouakchott was hit by water shortages due to a faulty pipe network and mud deposits linked to the rainy season.

The Mauritanian capital relies on water sources mainly along the Senegal River, which lies some 200 kilometres (124 miles) to the south.