World Water Day is commemorated each year on 22 March and serves as a time to remind people of the precious resource that we often take for granted. Some 650 million people, almost one in 10 of the world&rsquos population, do not have the access to improved sources of drinking water and one in three lacks improved sanitation, putting them at risk of infectious diseases and premature death.
(Young girls fetch water at a communal water pump drilled by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Bubango, Tanzania.)
According to the World Health Organization unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88 percent of deaths from diarrheal diseases, which kill 900 children under 5 years old per day according to new UN estimates, or one child every two minutes.
UN-Water, the United Nations inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater related issues including sanitation, concluded that the major sources of water pollution are from human settlements and industrial and agricultural activities. Approximately 3.5 million people die each year due to inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
Clean water and sanitation is one of the UN&rsquos Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations is aiming to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. This goal is not only to improve human health, but also a solution to reduce the gender inequality in some parts of the world. In Africa, 90 per cent of the work of gathering water is done by women and girls, who spend up to 6 hours every day fetching water. However, with the same access to productive resources as men, including water, women could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 per cent and lift 150 million people out of hunger.
Increased access to water can also aid in education because reducing the distance to a water source from 30 to 15 minutes increases a girl&rsquos school attendance by 12 per cent, according to a study in Tanzania.
(A woman in El Fasher, North Darfur, uses a Water Roller for easily and efficiently carrying water.)
The theme for this year&rsquos World Water Day is &ldquoBetter Water, Better Jobs&rdquo and highlights how water can create paid and decent work and contribute to a greener economy and sustainable development.
World Water Day is an international observance and an opportunity to learn more about water related issues, be inspired to tell others and take action to make a difference and dates back to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development where an international observance for water was recommended. The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. It has been held annually since then.