EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GLOBAL ACCESS TO WATER

DOES EVERYONE HAVE ACCESS TO WATER? HOW MANY PEOPLE DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER? WHO ARE THEY?

In 2019, 785 million people lacked basic drinking water services, 144 million of whom had to use untreated surface water. According to UNICEF and the WHO, 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water.

Today, almost 2.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. This can mean that they do not have access at home, they have access to a well that is far from their place of residence, or they consume from sources without knowing whether the water has been treated or not. It is estimated that 3.6 billion people live in areas where water is a potentially rare resource at least once a year.

The disparity in access between rural and urban areas is highlighted in the joint report by UNICEF and the WHO, ‘Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene’. The data collected indicates that out of 161 million people using untreated surface water (from lakes, rivers or irrigation channels), 150 million live in rural areas. Another indicator is access to latrines or toilets. For inhabitants of rural areas, this access is more restricted, so they are more likely to defecate in the open.

WHICH COUNTRIES DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH DRINKING WATER? WHY IS ACCESS TO WATER UNEQUAL?

Conflict, climate change, growing water scarcity, demographic changes and urbanisation are already harming safe water supply systems. By 2025, half the global population will live in regions suffering from water stress. This means that demand for water exceeds the amount of water available. This is already the case in 17 countries, including India, Libya, Qatar, Botswana, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Jordan, Pakistan and Lebanon, according to the World Resources Institute’s 2019 report. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, is in the low-medium water stress category, in position 89 out of 164 countries studied.

Insufficient access to water can be a national reality. This is the case for Yemen, where conflict has had a direct impact on the population’s access to food, water and a decent life. Bombing, population displacement, violence, and war strategies that sometimes deliberately target water supply points contribute towards limiting or removing the civilian population’s access to water.

SAFE DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION ARE CRUCIAL IN THE FIGHT AGAINST MALNUTRITION

Half a million children under the age of five die every year from diarrhoea, mainly caused by diseases like cholera and life-threatening viruses. In 1990, data showed that around 88% of cases of diarrhoea that led to death were attributed to a poor sanitary environment, meaning insufficient access to safe drinking water and sanitation, compared to 58% in 2018. This proportion has been reduced, but it is still too large.

Water is a key factor in a child’s health: a positive one, if it is safe to drink, or a negative one, if it is unsafe. Even if children eat enough and have the basic nutrients they need for their development, drinking untreated or unsafe water can ruin their health and send them into a state of malnutrition. Drinking non-potable water can lead to diarrhoeal diseases, which, as their name suggests, cause diarrhoea and weaken the child. If they are already suffering from malnutrition, their condition will worsen. What is more, treatments will not work as the child will not retain any nutrients, so their condition cannot improve.

WHAT IMPACT IS CLIMATE CHANGE HAVING ON GLOBAL ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER?

Due to climate change, water is becoming more scarce and less safe to drink. The consequences on hunger could cancel out years of progress and victories against hunger.

On a worldwide scale, it is estimated that poorer water quality has already reduced biodiversity in rivers, lakes and wetlands by a third. And the increased number of natural disasters, like storms, cyclones and floods, is no secret. These climate events have a greater impact on the populations that are less prepared, that are more exposed and that pollute the least.

The surplus or absence of water is ravaging farmers’ crops and livestock. Without water, it is impossible to keep animals hydrated and grow food for them. Ethiopia, for example, has been struck by severe droughts that limit the population’s access to means of subsistence. In other words, it is very difficult for Ethiopians to produce or have access to means of production in order to eat. In addition, the droughts restrict activities like agriculture, livestock rearing and selling to butchers or other farmers, market gardening, fishing, etc.

On the other end of the scale, in the case of flooding, the surplus of water destroys plants, animals drown and populations are forced to flee, leaving what little they had behind. Rising sea levels due to climate change are a threat and have already caused many to leave their region or country to seek safety.

In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake did little damage to infrastructures but had a huge impact on the population’s access to safe drinking water. Much of the population whose homes were destroyed took refuge in the city centre, without access to toilets. These displaced people were forced to drink water contaminated by faecal matter in which cholera bacteria were present. Cholera thus spread through the population, worsened existing cases of malnutrition and caused new cases.

FIGHTING INEQUALITY BY PROVIDING ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER FOR ALL

In emergency situations – after a conflict or following a natural disaster, for example – we give out hygiene kits. In the Lake Chad basin, we have distributed kits in Chad, Nigeria and even Cameroon. Conflict and tension in the region has led to huge population displacement. Many have found themselves without access to water.

After a natural disaster, we do essential work to provide direct access to water and other basic services and to make sure the population survives. Following Cyclone Idai, we gave out hygiene kits to make sure vulnerable populations could maintain good hygiene. This also helps them to preserve their dignity.

Rohingya refugees were driven out of their country, Myanmar, and forced to seek refuge in Bangladesh. Once in their makeshift shelter, they had no access to water. We therefore built water supply points and latrines to prevent disease from developing and spreading. We also distributed drinking water. In parallel to this, we organised hygiene and hand-washing awareness sessions.

In many cases, these populations left with nothing but what they could carry on their back. Hygiene kits are therefore essential, in order to give them all the tools they need.

The kits are made up of hygiene products (soap, sanitary towels, etc.) and items to transport water for drinking or cooking (saucepans, canteens, water purifying tablets, etc.). These basic kits fulfil displaced people’s basic needs until basic infrastructures can be installed or until they can return home.

THE RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION: WHAT IS IT?

The right to water and sanitation revolves around several factors:

• Availability: the water supply for each person must be sufficient and continuous to cover personal and domestic uses (drinking, washing clothes, food preparation, hygiene, etc.).
• Accessibility: water and sanitation facilities must be physically and financially accessible to all, without discrimination, especially in terms of at-risk or marginalised groups, women and children.
• Quality and safety: water must be safe and free from anything that constitutes a threat to a person’s health. Sanitation facilities must be hygienic and prevent contact with human excreta.
• Acceptability: all water and sanitation facilities must be culturally acceptable and appropriate.
• Affordability: water and water-related facilities and services must be affordable to all.

Today, a third of countries still do not recognise the right to water and sanitation in their constitution, according to the 2019 UN-Water GLASS Report.

Action contre la Faim calls for the recognition and gradual fulfilment of the right to water and sanitation through its incorporation into national legislation and constitutions.

HOW CAN WE IMPROVE, MANAGE AND GUARANTEE ACCESS TO WATER FOR ALL IN THE LONG TERM?

We believe sanitation is a fundamental step in this process. Once access to water is established, it must be maintained and looked after to ensure a permanent water supply. In many of the countries where we operate, water sources need to be built in remote areas, as this gives several villages access to water, even if it is not a direct supply.

In Jordan, affected by the Syrian refugee crisis, we built water infrastructures for host communities and refugees to guarantee their independence.

Meanwhile, Iraq is facing an unprecedented water crisis, which could have humanitarian, socio-economic and security repercussions. Water management and conservation is a huge challenge in the region. A lot of the water supply is wasted due to leaks above and below ground. Moreover, an obsolete water supply network can affect water quality and pose risks to public health, as polluting elements can enter the pipes through the cracks. In Duhok, an estimated 40% of the water that runs through the city’s system is simply wasted due to leaks in the pipes. Our teams are working to detect these leaks.

In 2022, 24% of our activity was related to ‘Water, sanitation and hygiene’ in some way. In total, nearly 6.8 million people received our help with access to water all over the world in 2022, in our bid to fight malnutrition.

Access to water, hygiene and sanitation is a key part of this fight. One of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 is to ensure unconditional access to clean water and sanitation. But we can’t do it without you.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES: ESSENTIAL FOR GUARANTEEING PROGRESS IN THE WATER AND SANITATION SECTOR

Participation means that the public and service users play an active role in the decision-making process. On an international level, NGOs’ and local stakeholders’ right to participate in negotiations and the creation of international water and sanitation policies must be recognised and guaranteed by the international water community. Measures must also be taken to ensure equal representation for women, young people and other under-represented groups in water management, especially in decision-making bodies and management positions.