Although access to water in Senegal is better than in many sub-Saharan African nations, it is still poor by western standards, particularly in rural areas where the most recent figures suggest that only 17% have water connected to their house and only 2% have house sewerage systems. The figures for the urban areas are significantly higher, though again, sewerage systems are only enjoyed by around 20% of the population there. Most villages have communal washing facilities in a freestanding, concrete building with two tin sides.

For the rest, its a matter of walking to water holes and collecting a daily supply from there or taking a  donkey and cart if further afield. The most arid region of Senegal is the Ferlo desert where only a few trees that shelter cow and goat herds break up the vast, empty expanse.

As the years roll by, this north of the country is becoming increasingly prone to desertification due to poor farming methods and destruction of forests (60% of Senegal's forests have disappeared since 1970 mainly for fire wood) coupled with climate change.

The government has responded to this increasing desertification by planning to create a wall of trees some 4,375 miles long stretching across the Sahel from Dakar to Djibouti in league with eleven other African countries, a project that finally got the go ahead in early 2011 and is to be known as the 'Great Green Wall'.

In the meantime the lack of fresh, safe water coupled with poor sanitation in Senegal contributes to the high risk of waterborne diseases that make children in Senegal more likely to fall ill and less likely to attend school and get an education and consequently have better life outcomes.