World Water Day 2018: A Child Dies Every 2 Minutes Due to Dirty Water
Let's start with some questions - How far do you have to travel for drinking water? When you get there, is the water clean enough not to pose the risk of a life threatening illness?
Of course, if you're reading this then the answer to the first question is probably 'as far as the kitchen', and the second question is almost certainly yes. For 844 million people in the world, both of these things are an unattainable luxury rather than a right. They have to walk at least 30 minutes to access clean water or risk drinking from unimproved sources. You, like most of us, take clean drinking water so much for granted that we often forget to drink enough of it! For 884 million people, clean and safe drinking is a battle that they have to fight everyday.
Water Aid Report
Findings published by Water Aid highlight the depth of the clean water problem across the globe. Diarrhoea, skin infections and trachoma - an eye problem - are some of the illnesses caused by dirty water.
Eritrea, Papua New Guinea and Uganda are the three countries with the poorest access to clean water, Uganda a new addition to the list this year with just 38% of the population being to access clean drinking water.
Mozambique is 4th in the table of countries making the best progress in terms of clean water, but is still 10th in the world for lowest access to water. The capital city, Maputo, is experiencing severe water shortages and is preparing to start rationing. These countries are only a few examples of the severity of the water crisis across the world.
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Sustainable Development Goal 6
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to provide clean drinking water universally by 2030.
As is shown in the infographic, around 91% of the world's population have access to improved water sources. The average growth rate since 2010 is around 0.51% meaning that the target is slightly behind schedule because based on that rate full access will be reached in 2032.
Do What You Can
If you can, make a donation to a water charity of your choice today. WaterAid themselves do great work to improve clean water access, and it only takes £24 to provide one person with clean water for life. That seems like a change worth making.
Drink Clean. And give others the chance to do the same💧