The Global Water Crisis!
Globally, 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water, including 785m people without ‘basic’ drinking water services, of whom four out of five live in rural areas. Majority of the rural water-insecure live in Africa and Asia, but there are also small geographies elsewhere in the world, including Australia, Europe, and North America facing the same problem.
Cape Town’s historic shortage in 2018 is the latest near to crisis situation that hit Africa . South African authorities narrowly avoided disaster by rationing drinking water to 50 liters per inhabitant per day in a city that was used to consuming large volumes of water. Around the same year, Bouaké in Côte d’Ivoire received emergency financing of $8.5 million from the World Bank to cope with a serious water shortage.
Water is a vital need to every individual globally. As was seen over the past year to date, WHO’s number one recommended protective measure against the coronavirus is frequent cleaning of hands with soap. Therefore, ensuring the availability of safe water for all is clearly vital to keep up the fight against the spread of COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Technology could help tackle water scarcity and monitor water usage across the continent - High-tech solar pumps mapping underground freshwater reservoirs across Africa are collecting data that can help prevent them running dry.
With the present way we are using this resource, we will not be able to achieve SDG 6 - to ensure "availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all."
It is very essential that the global community comes together to take bold and radical steps to ensure the sustainable use, protection and maintenance of Water. Several organizations are working to meet this goal through programs that promote behavior change and education.
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