Facts and Stats About Water Scarcity

Water scarcity is the lack of fresh water resources to meet water demand. It affects every continent and was listed in 2015 by the World Economic Forum as the largest global risk in terms of potential impact over the next decade. Wikipedia.

At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from diseases associated with lack of access to clean water. In developing countries this number can be as high as 80%.

Today 71% of the global population (5.2 billion people) use a safely managed drinking water service; that is, one located on premises, available when needed and free from contamination. 1 out of 3 of these people (1.9 billion people) live in rural areas.(WHO/UNICEF 2017). A person without access to improved drinking water – for example from a protected borehole well or municipal piped supply for instance – is forced to rely on sources such as surface water, unprotected and possibly contaminated wells, or vendors selling water of unverifiable provenance and quality. For many communities, water sources are usually far from their homes, and it typically falls to women and girls to spend much of their time and energy fetching water, a task which often exposes them to attack from men and even wild animals.

Across low-income countries, women and girls have primary responsibility for management of household water supply, sanitation and health. Often, fulfilling these roles precludes any other occupation or participation in education, and their marginalization is compounded by the indignity and insecurity of having nowhere private to go to the toilet. Addressing the needs of females in relation to water, sanitation and hygiene is a key driver in achieving gender equity and locking the potential of half of global society (UN-Water.org).

844 million poeple do not have access to clean water. 2.3 billion don't have access to decent toilets.

31% of schools don't have access to clean water.

Waterborne diseases, including cholera, typhoid, and dysentery, are caused by drinking water containing infectious viruses or bacteria, which often come from human or animal waste. Water-washed diseases, such as skin and eye infections, are caused by lack of clean water for washing. For children, the chances of survival dwindle in the absence of these essentials. Every day, 6,000 children die of water-related diseases.Young children are the first to get sick and die from waterborne and sanitation-related illnesses—including diarrhoeal diseases and malaria. (unicef).

Without safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities at home and in places of work and education, it is disproportionately harder for women and girls to lead safe, productive, healthy lives (Un-Water.org, 2018).

Access to water and sanitation are recognized by the United Nations as human rights, reflecting the fundamental nature of these basics in every person’s life. Lack of access to safe, sufficient and affordable water, sanitation and hygiene facilities has a devastating effect on the health, dignity and prosperity of billions of people, and has significant consequences for the realization of other human rights. The human right to safe drinking water was first recognized by the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council as part of binding international law in 2010. (UN, 2010)

One of the most cost effect health interventions.

Water is the primary medium through which we will feel the effects of climate change. Water availability is becoming less predictable in many places, and increased incidences of flooding threaten to destroy water points and sanitation facilities and contaminate water sources. In some regions, droughts are exacerbating water scarcity and thereby negatively impacting people’s health and productivity. Ensuring that everyone has access to sustainable water and sanitation services is a critical climate change mitigation strategy for the years ahead. (UN-Water).

Globally, water scarcity already affects four out of every 10 people. A lack of water and poor water quality increases the risk of diarrhoea, which kills approximately 2.2 million people every year, as well as trachoma, an eye infection that can lead to blindness, and many other illnesses. (World Health Organzation).