Eritrea is currently experiencing a severe water crisis caused by prolonged drought, climate pressures, and the effects of global inflation.
Everyday Eritreans face chronic water shortages, and the little water that is available has become extremely expensive. Families struggle to obtain enough water for basic daily needs such as washing, cooking, and cleaning.
Because local supplies are insufficient, water must be imported from abroad.
Climate Change and Declining Rainfall
Although it is the rainy season in Eritrea known as Keremti rainfall this summer and in recent previous summers has been very low. Significant rain only began falling in the final days of July. Eritrea has been hit hard by climate change. Average temperatures have risen by about 1.7°C since 1960, droughts have become more frequent and intense, and rainfall patterns have grown increasingly unreliable.¹
Long-term records show that annual precipitation remains highly variable. Recent years such as 2023 (39.3 cm) and 2024 (40.6 cm) continue to reflect below-average or uneven distribution compared with earlier periods.² The wider Horn of Africa has suffered repeated droughts since 2021, with persistent shortfalls and below-normal soil moisture still affecting parts of northern and western Eritrea.³ Coastal and lowland areas that depend on the Bahri rains have also experienced multi-year failures, placing heavy stress on pastoralists, agriculture, and household water supplies. These changes are accelerating desertification and land degradation across the Sahelian zone that includes Eritrea.
Global Inflation and the Cost of Imported Water:
Global inflation has sharply raised the cost of importing water and related materials. Eritrea relies on imports to supplement scarce domestic supplies, making households and communities especially vulnerable to rising international prices.
Inadequate Infrastructure
Eritrea’s water infrastructure remains inadequate in many areas. Drainage systems and piped networks are limited or aging, leaving communities heavily dependent on tanker trucks. These trucks themselves suffer from fuel shortages and high operating costs, further restricting reliable distribution.
Anti-Eritrean Sanctions, Isolation, and Limited Financial Resources:
The country lacks sufficient financial resources for rapid modernization of its water systems. A large share of the national budget is devoted to national security because of the difficult regional security situation. Eritrea has been subject to unilateral sanctions that restrict access to international banking systems (including difficulties with the SWIFT network) and limit the amount of external financial support available for large-scale water projects. Limited transparency regarding public spending has also been widely noted. Isolation and restricted access to international finance make it much harder to obtain the capital needed to strengthen water security.
Differing Views on Responsibility:
Eritrean opposition sources largely blame the government for the crisis, while pro-government sources point to climate pressure, global inflation, and what they call illegal unilateral sanctions. Climate change and inflation clearly worsen the situation, while sanctions and isolation further constrain the country’s ability to respond.
Progress Despite Enormous Challenges:
Despite wars, sanctions, and isolation, Eritrea has achieved significant progress in water harvesting. At independence the country had only about 138 dams. That number has since grown to nearly 800 (and higher in some recent counts) through the construction of micro-dams, medium dams, and larger reservoirs. These structures support irrigation, livestock, and household use.⁴
Access to safe drinking water has increased dramatically since independence: from just 13 percent of the population in the early 1990s to around 85 percent today
Urban coverage has risen from about 30 percent to over 92 percent, while rural access has expanded from only 7 percent to nearly 80 percent (with safely managed services reaching approximately 79 percent in rural areas and 95 percent in urban areas).⁵
Partnerships, including with the African Development Bank, have contributed to many of these projects.
Priorities for Strengthening Water Security
Right now the priority must be greater investment in water security:
- Expand water tanks and reservoirs, especially around the major cities.
- Modernize water infrastructure by building adequate drainage systems and reliable water pipelines.
- Develop desalination plants to turn seawater into freshwater, taking advantage of Eritrea’s long Red Sea coastline.
- Scale up reforestation and soil-and-water conservation to fight desertification and reduce the impacts of climate change.
Partnerships with the African Development Bank and other development institutions can help finance and technically support these efforts. By combining continued domestic dam construction and conservation work with modern solutions and stronger external collaboration, Eritrea can build greater resilience against the combined pressures of climate change, inflation, and infrastructure gaps.
Sources
1. Eritrean Ministry of Information (Shabait) reports and official statements on water access and dam construction (2024–2026).
2. Climate assessments documenting approximately 1.7°C temperature rise since 1960 and repeated droughts in the Horn of Africa since 2021 (European Commission Joint Research Centre and related studies).
3. Precipitation records showing annual averages and variability in recent years.
4. African Development Bank project reports on drought resilience, dam construction, and water-harvesting programmes in Eritrea.