LIBERIA: WaterAid calls for action on access to water
…In observance of World Water Day 2018 – By WASH R&E “Media” Network – To mark World Water Day on March 22, WaterAid in Liberia is calling for urgent action from the international community and its government to reach the 30% of people in Liberia without access to clean water close to home, and leave no one behind.
WaterAid’s ‘The Water Gap’ Report, released for World Water Day, reveals highest, lowest countries for water access.
High demand for safe drinking water….photo of Clara Town community in Monrovia
According to WaterAid’s State of the World’s Water 2018 Report, the Water Gape examines the countries in the world with the highest percentages and largest numbers of people cannot get clean water within a half hour round trip, as well as those with the most progress, and demonstrates the sizeable gap between rich and poor when it comes to access to water.
Liberia has 70% water coverage, according to the latest Unicef-WHO Joint Monitoring Programme figures.
Today, 844 million people globally do not have clean water, a number which has risen from last year.
Demand for safe drinking water is a global crisis
This is in part because those who are not able to fetch water within a half hour round trip no longer count as having access to water, compounding pressures from urbanisation, population growth, shock weather events and poor financing and prioritisation of water supply.
The Report comes as nations prepare for a July 2018 review of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6, to deliver water and sanitation to everyone, everywhere by 2030.
Among the main findings:
- Eritrea, Papua New Guinea and Uganda are the three countries with lowest access to clean water close to home, with Uganda being a new addition to the list this year at 38% access.
- Mozambique ranks fourth in the table of countries making greatest progress in water provision, but remains 10th in the world for lowest access to water. Its capital city, Maputo, is currently experiencing severe water shortages and is now preparing for rationing.
- Almost every country struggling to provide its people with clean water also has a huge gap in access between richest and poorest. For instance, in Niger, only 41% of the poorest people have access to water, while 72% of its wealthiest do. In neighbouring Mali, the gap widens to 45% and 93%, respectively. In Uganda, only 35% of the poorest have access to clean water close to home, while 72% of the wealthy do.
- India, while still having the most people without clean water, is also near the top of the list for most people reached: more than 300 million between 2000 and 2015, or nearly equivalent to the population of the United States.
WaterAid’s Chief Executive, Tim Wainwright, said:
“It’s deplorable that nearly 300,000 children under five years old die each year from diarrhoeal illnesses directly linked to dirty water, lack of decent toilets and poor hygiene. We all need to step up the urgency around the water and sanitation crisis as current progress is nowhere near fast enough.
“This year presents a time for real change as this summer, progress towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 – to deliver access to water and sanitation for all by 2030 – will be reviewed by world leaders in New York. We urge them to take real action as without water and sanitation, none of the other Global Goals – for alleviating poverty, improving health and creating a fairer and more sustainable world – will be achievable.”
Chuchu Selma, Deputy Country Director of WaterAid in Liberia and Sierra Leone said:
“Cape Town is a wake-up call for all of us, reminding us that access to water, our most precious resource, is increasingly under threat. Those marginalised by age, gender, class, caste or disability, or living in a slum or remote rural community, are hardest to reach and will continue to suffer as long as governments do not prioritise and fund access to water for all.”
Jonathan Farr, WaterAid’s Senior Policy Analyst on water security and climate change, added:
“Already 60% of the world are living in water stress and this is expected to increase, with extreme weather brought by climate change, urbanisation, industrialisation and the simple ever-increasing demand for water. We know progress is possible: India has reached more than 300 million people in 15 years alone. But progress requires financing, political priority and the will to ensure the basic needs of every person are met, to ensure a better future for millions around the world.”
This World Water Day, WaterAid is calling for:
- Recognition that the UN Global Goals are everyone’s responsibility to deliver, to ensure no one is left behind. Everyone is accountable if they fail.
- Responsible environmental management, including regulating the use of water in agriculture and industry, to protect and preserve enough clean water for communities’ basic needs.
- Including access to water, sanitation and hygiene as central to health, education, nutrition and gender equality. Without water, none of the other UN Global Goals can be met.
- Urgent action on the ground, at regional, national and global scale. Access to safe drinking water is a UN-recognised human right: politicians need to prioritise it and fund it, civil society must help all people speak out for their rights, and those working in water, sanitation and hygiene must support service providers and government to respond.
- Mobilising resources from taxes, tariffs and transfers, and increasing the amount and proportion of aid for water, sanitation and hygiene, to close the gaps in financing. This also means supporting institutions to ensure they are accountable and well-governed, so that money is well-spent, and promoting pro-poor policies that ensure access to water for everyone.
World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about focusing attention on the importance of water. The theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.
