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World Water Day
From the World Water Day web site … “The world water crisis is one of the largest public health issues of our time. Nearly 1.1 billion people (roughly 20% of the world’s population) lack access to safe drinking water [1]. The lack of clean, safe drinking water is estimated to kill almost 4,500 children per day [2]. In fact, out of the 2.2 million unsafe drinking water deaths in 2004, 90% were children under the age of five [3]. Water is essential to the treatment of diseases, something especially critical for children.
“This problem isn’t confined to a particular region of the world. A third of the Earth’s population lives in “water stressed” countries and that number is expected to rise dramatically over the next two decades [4]. The crisis is worst in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
“The world water crisis is created by a confluence of factors including climate and geography, lack of water systems and infrastructure, and inadequate sanitation, something that 2.6 billion people (40% of the world’s population) lack access to [5]. Some of these countries have additional problems, including high levels of arsenic and fluoride in drinking water [6].
“Many women and young girls in rural areas in Sub-Saharan African and other parts of the world must trek as much as six miles everyday to retrieve water for their families [7]. Due to this manual labor, such women and children are prevented from pursuing an education, maintaining their households or earning additional income [8].
“Thus, the lack of clean water, coupled with the lack of basic sanitation and a dearth of hygiene education, is one of the largest obstacles to progress and development in these regions and across the world. The UN has prioritized water access among its Millennium Development Goals because it contributes to such widespread suffering, including increased poverty, high child mortality rates, depressed education levels, and political instability. Without question, the world water crisis condemns billions of people to a perpetual struggle to survive at the subsistence level, [9] thus inspiring millions to engage and alleviate this problem. Join us. Get involved today.”
Sources: [1] WaterAid, 2005 [2] UNICEF/WHO Water for Life, Making it Happen, 2005 [3] UNICEF/WHO Water for Life, Making it Happen, 2005 [4] BBC News October 19, 2004 [5] UNICEF/WHO Water for Life, Making it Happen, 2005 [6] Department of International Development, Water Action Plan, March 2004 [7] UNESCO/ International Year of Fresh Water 2003 [8] UNESCO/ International Year of Fresh Water 2003 [9] UNICEF/WHO Water for Life, Making it Happen, 2005
What will you do to honor this day?
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You may also wish to check out the UN’s World Water Day.
As a sign of recognition to the problem of water scarcity throughout the world we should all stop drinking bottled water.
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 22, 2007 (ZENIT.org).- Benedict XVI has called water an “inalienable right” in a message marking the U.N. World Water Day, celebrated each March 22.
A message sent on behalf of the Pope by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, recalls that there is a “shared responsibility” in managing this precious resource, “enabling access by all, especially those living in conditions of poverty.”
The message stated that this is “a moral and political imperative in a world that has levels of knowledge and technology capable of ending a scarcity of water.”
The papal message continues: “We are all called to modify our way of life in an educational effort capable of returning the worth and respect merited by this common resource for humanity.
“We are faced with a socioeconomic, environmental and moral challenge that concerns not only institutions, but society itself.”
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