More than 663 million people do not have access to safe drinking water
World Water Day is celebrated every year on March 22 with the aim of raising awareness of the need to use of this resource, which is very scarce in certain areas of the planet, more responsibly.
The theme chosen for this year's World Water Day is Why waste water?, a slogan that seeks to reduce waste water while encouraging its reuse. At present, more than 663 million people do not have access to drinking water close to their home, meaning that, at the end of each day they have to travel kilometres to stock up on water.
Diseases related to water and to the lack of access to safe drinking water cause 3.5 million deaths each year worldwide, a figure significantly higher than the number of deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents and AIDS combined. According to the World Water Council, 12% of the world's population is affected by a lack of access to safe drinking water.
« Water is critical to sustainable development, including environmental integrity and the alleviation of poverty and hunger, and as well as being essential to human health and well-being. » Nations Unity.
The organisation claims that 319 million sub-Saharan Africans (32%), 554 million Asians (12.5%) and 50 million Latin Americans (8%) do not have access to safe drinking water. Papua New Guinea, where only 40% of the population have access to safe drinking water, has the lowest availability of these regions, followed by Equatorial Guinea (48%), Angola (49%), Chad and Mozambique (51%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar (52%) and Afghanistan (55%).
As you know, the Elecnor Foundation has developed a project in the Gove community in the Huambo province in Angola, where its 10,000 inhabitants now have access to drinking water, which has increased the community's sanitation levels, improved health and reduced work and school absenteeism.
The H2OMe project is the first official community centre in Gove. Located about 100 metres from the school, it is designed to simultaneously host a water purification plant and a site for educational, recreational and social activities.
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