In a story from the Quechua people in Peru, a hummingbird fetches drops of water to help put out a great forest fire. The other animals laugh at her, but the bird replies, “I’m doing what I can”.
Inspired by this tale, the United Nations has kicked off a World Water Day 2023 campaign that calls on everyone to do what they can to solve the global water and sanitation crisis.
The global water and sanitation crisis by the numbers
According to UN figures, 1.4 million people die annually and 74 million will have their lives shortened due to diseases related to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Worldwide, one in four, or 2 billion people, lack safe drinking water. Nearly half of all the wastewater coming out of households – from their toilets, sinks, drains, and gutters – flows back into nature without harmful substances being removed.
Be the change
The global campaign, called Be the change, encourages people to take small steps to change the way they use and manage water.
It is led by UN-Water, an inter-agency mechanism that coordinates the world body’s work on water and sanitation.
The campaign ends on World Water Day (22 March), the day on which the world recommits to addressing water-related challenges.
The promises made by individuals on the campaign website will contribute to the Water Action Agenda - a main outcome of the upcoming UN 2023 Water Conference.
The Water Action Agenda is a collection of voluntary commitments from governments, companies, organizations, institutions, coalitions, and members of the public, designed to deliver rapid progress on internationally-agreed water and sanitation targets, most notably Sustainable Development Goal 6.
Don’t you want to be like this little bird?
Join the hummingbird campaign:
