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Clean Water and Sanitation
What’s the Problem? There are only so many ways to say that clean water and sanitation is a basic human right. So instead, read through these facts from un.org to put things in perspective: • 1 in 4 health care facilities lacks basic water services • 3 in 10 people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and 6 in 10 people lack access to safely managed sanitation facilities. • At least 892 million people continue to practice open defecation. • Women and girls are responsible for water collection in 80 per cent of households without access to water on premises. • Water scarcity affects more than 40 per cent of the global population and is projected to rise. Over 1.7 billion people are currently living in river basins where water use exceeds recharge.
Written by Nuala Clarke Illustration by Jenny Kohler
What can you do? • Don’t take your own clean water and sanitation facilities for granted and support campaigns to help ensure everyone has access to these basic rights. • Keep an eye out for World Water Day and World Toilet Day campaigns, which aim to provide information and inspiration for action on hygiene issues. Share posts, fund-raise, and spread awareness of these days! • Keep governments accountable and urge them to invest in water research and development, and promote the inclusion of women, youth and indigenous communities in water resources governance. You can write to MPs, vote and be vocal in what you want as a citizen!
• 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines • More than 80 per cent of wastewater resulting from human activities is discharged into rivers or sea without any pollution removal • Each day, nearly 1,000 children die due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrheal diseases.
13 Green Zine 2021
Sustainable Development Goals