80% of the Republic of Niger is covered by the Sahara desert and 64% of the country's rural population lack access to safe water, with what water being available at risk of contamination due to an almost non existent sanitation system outside urban areas and feed many illness affecting, in particular Niger children including diarrhoea and typhoid fever.

The country has also suffered from the shrinking of Lake Chad, one of its few above ground sources of water. Rainfall has dropped by an estimated 50% in the last 30 years, and coupled with a surge in the country's population, Niger is now gripped by a water crisis and inevitably a food crisis as crops and livestock die due to a lack of water.

It is estimated that nearly half of Niger's population will be in need of food and water aid to prevent starvation, however the lack of international funds being made available means that aid agencies are forced to only meet the needs of children under the age of two, leaving potentially thousands to simply starve to death. Ironically, Niger has vast reserves of water underground with an estimated 2.5 billion cubic metres of water lying there, yet it is poorly exploited not least because of the country's poverty and lack of business and engineering acumen.

Most rural communities gain their water through wells, sunk deep into the ground, however these are few and far between meaning mainly women and children have to spend hours everyday walking to the wells, drawing up the water by buckets as few of the wells have pumps, then walk back home, carrying the water in what is one of the hottest countries in the world. This video documentary explores the water crisis situation in Niger and what steps are being taken to address the challenges.