The World Water Forum started this Monday in Dakar, Senegal, under the theme "Water Security for Peace and Sustainable Development". This is the most important meeting dedicated to water management on a global scale. The 9th World Water Forum is a joint organization of the World Water Council and the Government of Senegal.

Running until Saturday, the event takes place every three years, and is being held for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa and the second time on the African continent (Marrakech, Morocco in 1997). Participants from all levels and domains are gathered in the Senegalese capital, from the private to the public, from academia to politics.

According to the United Nations, only 30% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has access to a safe source of drinking water. One in four Africans does not have access to safe drinking water.

Africa does not lack water, but it does lack distribution and sanitation infrastructure. The situation affects most countries, rural or urban.

With Africa's population set to double by 2050, one of today's priorities is to improve water quality. To do this, solutions must be found to manage the waste and pollution that is at the root of most water-related diseases. Diseases that kill, especially children.

According to UNICEF, 500 children die every day in Sub-Saharan African countries due to a lack of clean drinking water and poor sanitation. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 70% of the population has no connection to a sanitation network, which means that everything is directly expelled into nature, polluting immediately and in the long term the environment.

A Unesco report published Monday in Dakar highlighted the potential of groundwater to generate social, economic and environmental benefits, provided it is managed sustainably.

According to the 272-page document, entitled "Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible," groundwater accounts for nearly 99% of the Earth's freshwater reserves.

But "the direct and indirect benefits they provide often go unnoticed or are ignored." As a result, the world's groundwater reserves are often mismanaged, undervalued, and at risk of pollution.

The underground waters supply half of the water volume captured in the world, according to Unesco, used by the world population for domestic purposes, agriculture and industry. For this reason, "it is essential to take advantage, in a more intelligent way, of the potential of underground water resources, which are still under-exploited" warned Audrey Azoulay, director-general of Unesco.

The organization estimates that water consumption is expected to increase by an average of 1% per year over the next 30 years.