Youth panel at ECOSOC urges youth-led solutions to Africa’s water and climate crisis

A panel at the United Nations’ ECOSOC Youth Forum on climate and the Sustainable Development Goals urged youth-led approaches to water security and climate adaptation, arguing that local solutions and new financing must center young people.

Eugenia Boateng, founder and executive director of the African Diaspora Youth Hub, described a solar-panel project in rural Tanzania that lit a secondary-school library and illustrated how lack of electricity and water harms education and menstrual health. "Without light, you're not able to learn properly," Boateng said, linking energy access to learning outcomes and to broader health and sanitation problems she encountered during a visit to a rural hospital.

"It's not a climate problem; it's a systems problem," said Sibisiswe Mazomba, a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, arguing that climate shocks magnify existing inequalities. Mazomba cited Cape Town's near 'Day Zero' drought and recent severe floods in Limpopo as examples of how extremes worsen public-health burdens tied to air quality and local emissions sources.

Jabri Ibrahim, also a member of the Secretary‑General’s youth advisory group, described practical consequences for food security and infrastructure and urged pragmatic messaging. He warned that new industrial demands for clean water—from data centers to green-hydrogen production—could create tensions where communities lack basic service access. "A lot of Africans don't have clean water. So, when they see water being potentially siphoned out ... it can create a bit of tension," Ibrahim said.

Panelists pointed to growing investment in water and sanitation projects and urged making adaptation "bankable" so that finance flows toward community resilience while creating jobs for young people. They highlighted gendered impacts and praised local women producers and small enterprises already building solutions, but they also said gaps remain between investment and inclusive outcomes.

The panel mixed policy notes with personal testimony: Ibrahim described early inspiration from Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai; Boateng explained that time spent in East Africa drove her to connect diasporan youth with the continent; and Mazomba recounted civic engagement that began after xenophobic attacks in South Africa and included capacity-building through think tanks.

The discussion closed with short messages to African youth to "stay energized," "keep up the fight" for justice and dignity, and to "be ambitious" — themes panelists said are essential as Africa pursues water sustainability and climate resilience. The session was part of the ECOSOC Youth Forum's SDG Media Zone at United Nations Headquarters in New York and did not result in formal votes or binding actions.