World Water Day 2011
| |
 |
| Disease outbreaks and lack of safe drinking water threatened Malanday Marikina after Typhoon Onday hit the Philippines in September 2009. Flash floods from a nearby treeless mountain left mud everywhere, contaminating water sources. Source: Karlo Emmanuel M. Victoriano, Courtesy of Photoshare |
World Water Day, held annually on March 22, takes a moment to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. This year theme, Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management.
Background
Water is everywhere – covering almost three-quarters of the earth's surface – yet nearly one billion people in the world do not have access to safe water. In just 20 years, the world’s demand for freshwater will outstrip supply by 40 percent.
Those without safe water and sanitation are likely to be poor, hungry and malnourished. Each day, thousands of people, mostly children under five, die from preventable diarrheal diseases. The increasing scarcity of safe water, combined with rapid worldwide population growth and environmental degradation, is also contributing to biodiversity loss and food insecurity. Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by the lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Women and girls often spend hours a day collecting water, foregoing other economic and education opportunities, and girls often drop out of school because of the lack of adequate sanitation.
Improving access to safe drinking water is an important component of USAID health, economic growth, environment and emergency response programs. Household water treatment and safe storage reduces waterborne disease, empowers families and communities, and improves productivity. These measures complement community and municipal water supply infrastructure programs by providing immediate access to safe water while construction is planned or implemented. Several options for ensuring safe drinking water at the household or the point-of-use are available, including chlorination, filtration, solar disinfection.
As a result of USAID’s activities, some 6.4 million people received improved access to safe drinking water and 3.4 million received improved access to sanitation in 2009.
Safeguarding the World’s Water: 2010 Report on USAID Fiscal Year 2009 Water Sector Activities - October 2010 [PDF, 7.3MB]
This report summarizes USAID's fiscal year 2009 investments and programs in safe drinking water and sanitation supply projects and related water management activities around the world through May 2010. The report describes all of USAID's water management programs that help ensure water security and sustainability with equity. 2008 Report on USAID Water Sector Activities - September 2009 [PDF, 9.2MB]
Water at USAID: From Ridge to Reef
USAID is committed to addressing these challenges, and creating a water secure world in which every society enjoys access to an acceptable quantity and quality of water to meet human, livelihood, production, and ecosystem needs. Learn more. |
Additional Information
- United Nations World Water Day 2011 Web site
The objective for World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems.
- WHO Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
WHO works on aspects of water, sanitation, and hygiene where the health burden is high, where interventions could make a major difference, and where the present state of knowledge is poor.
- Safe Drinking Water Alliance: Experiences in Haiti, Ethiopia, and Pakistan; Lessons for Future Water Treatment Programs - 2010 [PDF, 1.5MB]
To address some of the challenges created by lack of access to safe water, USAID’s Global Development Alliance in 2004 brought together Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Population Services International, CARE USA, and Procter & Gamble to create the Safe Drinking Water Alliance.
|
