Seven Weeks for Water: Water and Conflict

Mary Achol supervises a water point inside the Protection of Civilians area in the United Nations base in Malakal, South Sudan. Residents of the area can line up and fill their containers with water during certain hours of the day. Mary Achol maintains order and hygiene at the faucets. Some 35,000 people live in the camp, protected by UN peacekeeping troops. They were displaced from Malakal following the outbreak of a civil war in 2013. The armed conflict has a strong element of ethnic tension, and the mostly Shilluk and Nuer residents of the camp fear for their security from the largely Dinka population that has moved into their former town. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth Pictures

From the global Blue Community World Council of Churches (WCC):

In conflict-affected Ethiopia, water scarcity is a daily injustice for women and displaced communities.

Seven Weeks for Water 2026 | Week 2 – Water and conflict: How accessibility is ensured in conflict zones for marginalized groups.

The second of the Seven Weeks for Water reflection is authored by Tewaney Seifesellassie Yohannes, a senior climate advisor and head of the Peace, Advocacy, and Ethics Department at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission, Ethiopia. He works closely with faith-based and interreligious institutions on water, climate justice, peace-building, and the protection of vulnerable communities in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. In this reflection, he highlights the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian tradition, where water is a sacred gift, essential for life and spiritual renewal, yet in Ethiopia, water scarcity has become a source of conflict and injustice, especially for marginalized communities. However, collaborative faith-based initiatives to restore water sources have demonstrated how equitable water access can foster peace, health, and social cohesion, embodying the biblical call to care for creation and serve those in need.

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