Young people from 51 African countries have mapped water insecurity across their continent and brought their findings to COP31 in Antalya, pressing for a real say in the decisions that shape their water future. Their work takes centre stage on COP31’s Children, Youth, Education and Skills Day, on Saturday 14 November.
More than 2,100 young voices
The African Youth Water and Climate Engagement Initiative, led by the Green Africa Youth Organisation (GAYO) with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, reached 51 African countries. More than 1,200 young people took part in a preliminary survey, and more than 900 others joined consultations across the continent’s five regions.
Baliqees Salaudeen-Ibrahim, GAYO’s climate director, spoke to Premium Times at COP31 in Antalya about the work. “What we’re trying to understand is what the current water challenges are on the continent of Africa and how young people are responding to this problem,” she said.
The consultations confirmed the concerns raised in the survey and highlighted community projects already led by young people. GAYO plans to identify the most promising approaches, raise money for them and help them spread to other places.
The numbers behind the crisis
Water insecurity is a daily reality for millions of Africans. The 2025 WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme report found that only 32 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa had safely managed drinking water in 2024 — just 16 per cent in rural areas and 52 per cent in cities.
FAKTA
- 51 African countries covered by the youth water mapping
- More than 1,200 young people in the preliminary survey
- More than 900 young people in consultations across five regions
- Only 32 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa had safely managed drinking water in 2024
- 16 per cent in rural areas, 52 per cent in cities
- Formal presentation of the findings: UN Water Conference, Abu Dhabi, 8–10 December 2026
Nigeria shows how uneven access can be. The country’s 2024 Demographic and Health Survey found that 71 per cent of Nigerians had access to at least basic drinking water services, yet only 38 per cent of households actually had water on their premises, and just 66 per cent reported having enough water when they needed it.
Youth solutions, not just youth voices
The young people behind the mapping are not asking only to be heard. They want a formal role in the policy decisions that shape water and climate action, and they want the solutions they are already building in their communities to be funded and scaled up.
Salaudeen-Ibrahim said governments must work with young people to put solutions into practice, not only invite them to discussions. The findings were prepared so they could be put to the COP31 leadership, and they are due to be presented formally at the UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi in December.
A day for children and youth at COP31
Saturday 14 November is COP31’s Children, Youth, Education and Skills Day. The COP31 Presidency and the Greening Education Partnership are co-hosting a High-Level Ministerial Meeting from 10:00 to 15:00, organised with Türkiye’s Ministry of National Education, UNESCO and the OECD. The morning session looks at country experiences in climate-friendly schools and teacher training, while the afternoon session explores climate literacy as a measurable learning outcome, including in PISA 2029, and launches a new monitoring and evaluation working group.
Also on the day’s agenda are a press conference on the Global Child Climate Manifesto at 09:30 and a youth-negotiator roundtable from 11:00 to 14:00 in the Plenary hall Akdeniz.
The youth focus builds on a week in which young people have shaped the COP31 agenda. The Global Youth Statement 2026, built from contributions by more than 100,000 young people in 90 countries, launched at COP31 on 12 November, and Turkmenistan signed the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action on 11 November, joining more than 80 countries.
What happens next
The water findings will be formally presented at the UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi on 8–10 December 2026, where the young researchers hope their evidence will feed into decisions on water and climate policy. For the young people who mapped the crisis, the test of COP31 will be whether their evidence turns into funding for the community solutions they have already started.
