{"id":2774,"date":"2015-03-22T01:27:30","date_gmt":"2015-03-22T01:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=2774"},"modified":"2018-04-22T12:11:12","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T16:11:12","slug":"world-water-day-2015-un-calls-for-global-unity-in-pursuit-of-better-water-access-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2015\/03\/world-water-day-2015-un-calls-for-global-unity-in-pursuit-of-better-water-access-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"World Water Day 2015: Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ calls for global unity in pursuit of better water access for all"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the perils of climate change increasingly threaten the planet, the international community must unite in \u201ca spirit of urgent cooperation\u201d to address the many water-related challenges facing humanity, United Nations Secretary-General<\/a> Ban Ki-moon declared today.<\/p>\n

In his message<\/a> marking the 2015 edition of World Water Day, observed annually on 22 March, the Secretary-General warned that access to safe drinking water and sanitation was among \u201cthe most urgent issues\u201d affecting populations across the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe onset of climate change, growing demand on finite water resources from agriculture, industry and cities, and increasing pollution in many areas are hastening a water crisis that can only be addressed by cross-sectoral, holistic planning and policies \u2013 internationally, regionally and globally,\u201d Mr. Ban affirmed.<\/p>\n

Despite progress under the Millennium Development Goals <\/a>(MDGs), some 750 million people, or more than 1 in 10 of the world’s population, remain without access to an improved water supply, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ has reported.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ban added that women and children are particularly affected, compromising their overall health and exposing them to numerous hazards during the \u201cunproductive and sometimes dangerous business of collecting water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, the statistics on sanitation remain \u201ceven less encouraging\u201d as some 2.5 billion people around the world still live without improved sanitation while another one billion practise open defecation.<\/p>\n

In his message, the Secretary-General also warned that the gains made by the international community in working towards a sustainable future were \u201cjeopardized\u201d by climate change \u2013 an imminent threat that Member States were prepared to tackle head-on in December when they gather in Paris to draft \u201ca meaningful, universal climate agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo address the many challenges related to water, we must work in a spirit of urgent cooperation, open to new ideas and innovation, and prepared to share the solutions that we all need for a sustainable future,\u201d Mr. Ban stated. \u201cIf we do so, we can end poverty, promote global prosperity and well-being, protect the environment and withstand the threat of climate change.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The dire straits facing the world’s water situation were further amplified in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s 2015 World Water Development report, released by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization<\/a> (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO) and in time for today’s World Water Day celebrations.<\/p>\n

According to the report, the planet will face a 40 per cent shortfall in water supply in 2030 unless the international community \u201cdramatically\u201d improves water supply management. Demand for water is slated to skyrocket 55 per cent by 2050 while 20 per cent of global groundwater is already overexploited.<\/p>\n

As a result, the report has urged the international community to devote an entire sustainable development goal to water itself \u2013 from issues of water governance and quality to wastewater management and the prevention of natural disasters.<\/p>\n

Sanjay Wijesekera, head of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Children Fund’s<\/a> (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF) global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene programmes, similarly cautioned about the dangerous disparities in water access around the globe, noting that despite \u201ctremendous progress in the face of incredible odds,\u201d there was still more to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater is the very essence of life and yet three-quarters of a billion people \u2013 mostly the poor and the marginalized \u2013 still today are deprived of this most basic human right,\u201d Mr. Wijesekera said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On average, nearly 1,000 children die every day from diarrhoeal disease linked to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, or poor hygiene. In addition, in three countries \u2013 the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea \u2013 more than half the population do not have improved drinking water.<\/p>\n

In an effort to raise greater awareness about the importance of improving water quality and access, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF has launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #wateris, the agency’s press release added.<\/p>\n

Also marking the Day, the Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, L\u00e9o Heller, called for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s post-2015 development agenda to boost incentives for governments, providers and donors to expand their reach to those still struggling with water access.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to aim for a higher rate of progress for disadvantaged groups, otherwise we will not achieve access for all in the foreseeable future,\u201d Mr. Heller stated. \u201cThe world will see real achievement and ‘leave no one behind’ only when the efforts of the post-2015 agenda reach and impact the lives of the most disadvantaged groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

via Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ News Center<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the perils of climate change increasingly threaten the planet, the international community must unite in \u201ca spirit of urgent cooperation\u201d to address the many water-related challenges facing humanity, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-water-and-sanitation","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2774\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}