The Importance Of Safe Water And Sanitation

According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012, “783 million people, or 11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water. Such sources include household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collections.” (United Nations, 2012) The United Nations Water Conference in 1977 along with a few other conferences, addressed helping approximately “1.3 billion people in developing countries gain access to safe drinking water.” (United Nations, 2012) While there is progress being made, we see that various regions without clean drinking water. Reports show, “In four of nine developing regions, 90 per cent or more of the population now uses an improved drinking water source. In contrast, coverage remains very low in Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa, neither of which is on track to meet the MDG drinking water target by 2015. Over 40 per cent of all people without improved drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa.” (United Nations, 2012) It is shown that rural areas still lack drinkable water as opposed to urban areas. Consistent improvement has been made to supply populated areas with a reliable source of drinking water. However, research shows, “Coverage with improved drinking water sources for rural populations is still lagging. In 2010, 96 per cent of the urban population used an

Main Point: Third world countries lack accessibility to clean water exposing them to disease and harmful toxins that result in 2.4 million deaths annually (Bartram, 2010).

Around the world people are suffering from the problem of having a safe and clean water, there are more than 633 million people lack access to safe water. Remote countries in Africa are mostly the victim of having unsanitary water sources.

That “over 1 billion people lack access to safe water supplies;” and that “2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation.” (WHO, 2005)

Clean water is essential to our basic needs as human beings and has been acknowledged as a basic human right according to the UN as of July 28, 2010. Still, 1 in 9 (782 million) people don’t have access to clean water, 1 in 3 (2.5 billion) don’t have access to adequate sanitation which results in the spread of often fatal and preventable disease. In a world where 2 in 5 people own a smartphone, it’s easy to forget that for some people even the most basic necessities are hard to come by. Approximately 3.5 million people die every year due to inadequate water supplies. Access to sanitation and safe drinking water could save the lives of 1.5 million children each year.

People in Developing countries drink pond, stream, pond water which could be contaminated by animals and people. In third world countries they’re not really educated so they don’t know that the water they drink is bad for them. Another way they get water is by digging deep holes until they find water, it may be cleaner than the surface water but there would be still be a chance that it could be contaminated, which could end up giving them diseases and even death. 884 million people in the world don’t have water that is safe to drink. Also more 80 percent of sewage in third world countries contaminates their water source. Schools also don’t clean/safe water for kids to drink. In developing countries women and children spend 6 hours every day trying to collecting water and on

Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.

According to (" UN-Water”) 783 million people do not have access to clean drinking water. The majority of people living in America have plenty of access to clean drinking water and often take that opportunity for granted . The lack of water in undeveloped countries can have a major effect on the economy. Countries that Have clean drinking water means being able to shower, cook, drink, water that can also be used for agriculture. Undeveloped countries with unclean water do not have these benefits

any countries in the world are short of precious water. Given that water is so essential to everyday activities, such as cooking,washing, and growing crops, without the quality of water can affect our nation, even causing economic or social instability. The cdc estimates 780 million people around the world,more than 1 in 10, do not have access to an improved water source one that is protected from outside contaminants.

Two out of every five people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack safe water. A baby there is 500 times more likely to die from water-related illness than one from the United States. This is a serious ongoing issue that requires the rest of the world to take action. Water spreads diseases easily if the necessary precautions are not taken. Many developing African countries don’t have sewage treatment, or the people don’t have methods to filter and disinfect. Once a person is sick either there is no way to cure them, or medical care is too expensive, so they are left untreated with a high risk of death. Although many believe that the fight for sanitary water in Africa is insurmountable, people in these developing countries can overcome their challenge to access clean water and avoid water-borne diseases through proper sewage treatment facilities, universal water filtration and medical care.

What is the one thing that all humans can agree on? Clean water. Then why are roughly 844 million people around the world living without access to clean water? (UN Water) As simple as it may seem, there are complex layers that have overlapped for generations, leading to an endless cycle of poverty. The scarcity of water contributes to issues in health, education, and poverty. Water impacts nearly every aspect of life; however, the most shocking fact is that we already have the solutions to provide safe water. The first obstacle that we must overcome is the allocation of resources. Now, more than ever, we have access to the world’s finest research and technology that could very easily end the water crisis. The solution to the water crisis starts with spreading awareness and reaching out to generous donors. Proper funding can be raised to reach the goals of charities across the globe. Sustainable clean water technology can be distributed to some of the most poverty-stricken countries in the world, such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which all have populations of over fifty percent living without improved drink water sources. (Africa Development Information) I believe we have the means to provide solutions to put an end to the water crisis, but it will require effort from donors and local communities alike. It is possible within the decade that no one will need to drink unsafe water again if we are united by this cause.

As the worlds population grows, it is forced by circumstances that it has created to face the limitations of the worlds resources. Most people in the US have always been fortunate enough to have enough of whatever they wanted. When something they like breaks or wears out, they throw it away or buy a new one, and they often don’t even make an attempt to repair an item. They neglect basic maintenance until they damage their belongings beyond repair, and expect that they’ll always have enough. But some things are beyond their control, beyond there power or financial ability to replace or repair. The world’s drinking water supply is one of these without concern, without attention, without preventative maintenance and reclamation and

One of the most important natural resources we have on this planet is water. Water covers roughly 70 percent of our planet and is the very foundation for every single species on earth. We as humans, rely on water more than any other resource on the planet and we simply can’t live without it. Although water is abundant around the world, clean water for millions of people is inaccessible. Around the world, there are people struggling to get water yet along clean water and it greatly affects our health. Improving clean water supply and sanitation, and better access to clean water resources, can increase countries’ economic development and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction and overall people’s health.

It is an essential resource for sustaining life as well as central to agriculture and rural development, and is intrinsically linked to global challenges of food insecurity and poverty, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as degradation and depletion of natural resources that affect the livelihoods of millions of people across the world. According to the World Bank, (2010) report, water is a scarce resource with multiple interwoven uses that range from drinking water, energy, irrigation, manufacturing things, transport of people and goods among others. The report further states that, more than one-sixth of the Worlds’ population does not have access to safe drinking water, with 80% living in rural areas thus access to water cannot not be guaranteed globally.

As water supply and sanitation is either non-existent or ineffective in cities and more largely populated areas, it is also struggling in rural areas such as smaller villages. Part of the reason why access to clean, usable water is unavailable is because of