Johannesburg, South Africa – From deadly Cyclone Gezani in Madagascar and surging waterborne disease risks across flood-affected Mozambique, to parched land and herds of dead livestock along the Kenya-Somalia border, the continent is starting 2026 under siege from water‑linked climate shocks – just as African leaders gather for a summit that puts the precious resource at the centre of its agenda.On paper, the African Union’s choice of water as its 2026 summit theme – with a focus on water as a vital resource for life, development and sustainability – appears apolitical. But experts say it is anything but.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“Water is life,” said Sanusha Naidu, a foreign policy analyst at the South African think tank, the Institute for Global Dialogue.“But it’s not just that water is life – water is becoming a commodity of corporatisation and access. It is a humanitarian conflict. It is a climate change conflict.“It’s a peace and security issue.”Water and conflictAlthough worsening climate change and the strain it puts on resources is a main pressure point, analysts point to other flashpoints where water and conflict intersect – including upstream-downstream tensions over shared natural resources, water being used as a weapon of war, and big industry claiming water resources at the cost of human beings.In Africa, water cuts across interstate disputes like Egypt and Ethiopia’s fight over the Nile, deadly tensions between farmers and herders in Nigeria over access to the same arable land, antigovernment protests over failed service delivery in Madagascar, and the outbreak …
