Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene May -June 2017 | Page 13

NEWS in brief
Global Highlights
Indices, the composite index is currently comprised of the
Bloomberg South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Botswana
and Namibia local currency sovereign indices and have
been joined from April this year by Ghana and Zambia.
“As more African countries are increasingly looking to
domestic capital markets to source much-needed financing
for economic development, we are delighted to welcome
Zambia and Ghana to the index and expect to include
more countries to it as soon as reliable pricing information
is made available,” says Stefan Nalletamby, Director of
the AfDB’s Financial Sector Development Department.
The expanded index will now include the eight most liquid
sovereign bond markets in Africa. agency, Unicef, to mark World Water Day 2017.
Drought conditions and conflict are driving deadly water
scarcity in parts of Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South
Sudan and Yemen. Unicef anticipates that more than 9
million people will be without safe drinking water this
year in Ethiopia alone. Nearly 1.4 million children face
imminent risk of death from acute malnutrition in South
Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen.
The AFMI works to deepen the continent’s local currency
bond markets and also strives to create an environment
where African countries can access financing at variable
terms. By providing transparent and credible benchmark
indices, the AFMISM Bloomberg® African Bond Index
provides investors with a tool with which to measure and
track the performance of Africa’s bond markets. As industrialization and demographic shifts increase
consumption, areas of south Asia and the Middle East will
be particularly affected, according to one of the report’s
authors, Nicholas Rees. “Where demand is extremely
high then water stress will increase. It will go up in areas
of rapid urbanization, and we are already seeing that
throughout sub-Saharan Africa and Asia,” he said.
AfDB has approved on the 7th of December 2016 the
creation of the first African multijurisdictional Fixed
Income Enhanced Exchange Traded Fund (ETF); namely
the African Domestic Bond Fund (ADBF) which will
indeed track the performance of ABABI.The ADBF is
expected to be launched in September this year.
The composite index is available to Bloomberg
Professional service subscribers via {BADB Index}. More
on the AFMI can be found at www.africanbondmarkets.
org.
World Water Day: one in four children will live with
water scarcity by 2040
Unicef report says climate change and conflict are
intensifying risks to children of living without enough
water, and that the poorest will suffer most
One in four
of the world’s
children will be
living in areas
with extremely
limited water
resources by
2040 as a result
of climate
A Sudanese woman fills water bottles held by a young boy
change, the UN
in North Darfur state. Within two decades 600 million
children will be in regions enduring extreme water stress.
has warned.
Photograph: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images
Within two
decades, 600
million children will be in regions enduring extreme water
stress, with a great deal of competition for the available
supply. The poorest and most disadvantaged will suffer
most, according to research published by the children’s
The report, Thirsting for a Future: Water and Children in
a Changing Climate, looked at the threats to children’s lives
and wellbeing caused by depleted sources of safe water
and the ways in which climate change will intensify these
risks.
Cyber security principles for the water industry
Water UK has produced
a set of principles and
recommendations to help
its members address the
risks posed to water and
waste water services by
cyber related threats. In
drawing this work together,
the industry engaged with stakeholders, government and
regulators.
The fast pace of the risks from and understanding
of cyber threats means that the industry needs to be
constantly reviewing and revising its practices.
NORDIC BRANDS SAVED ALMOST 7 BILLION
LITERS OF WATER, ENOUGH FOR DAILY NEEDS
OF 134 MILLION PEOPLE
H&M, IKEA, Filippa K and 20 other Nordic brands saved
more than 6.7 billion liters of water, or the daily water
supply* for 134 million people, in less than seven years.
Under the guidance of the Sweden Textile Water Initiative
(STWI), a programme driving global change towards
sustainable textile and leather production, the factories
have reduced water consumption and pollution while also
improving their profits. Since joining the programme,
participating factories have seen a return on investment of
more than 240 percent over three years.
“We would not have been able to accomplish these
amazing results on our own. Much of our success is due
to the motivation of our suppliers and the support of
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