Water is Wealth – A Call for Action in Africa

We often tend to forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one. Millions of women and children spend 3 – 6 hours collecting water from distant polluted sources daily and 2.1 billion people do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. We live in a world where half the hospital beds are employed by patients who suffer from diseases associated with lack of access to clean water where 3.4 million people die each year.

Access to clean water in Africa on Non-Profit Organizations that offer the country a well to be used by every institution that surrounds it. Therefore, “How Can We Make Water Available for All?” is a very important topic that is being addressed through the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

In the heat map below, we can see that Europe and Central Asia in addition to the Arab World have more access to the least basic drinking water services in comparison to Western and Central Africa.

It is also evident in the visual below that throughout the years, countries from all around the world increased their intake of their basic drinking water services except African countries who show a slight improvement.

It is important to note that for you to be able to visualize the changes throughout the years, you need to press on the button at the bottom of the visual!

However, with the slight improvements in a few countries, we can still find that other countries (such as the Central African Republic) are still experiencing a decrease on the matter.

It is said that “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” – W.H Auden

With all these problems being evident, one has to call for action. One of the solutions that have been implemented and has to remain active is increasing the public private partnerships investment in water and sanitation throughout the years (in $US).

This solution has helped increase the access of countries to clean water throughout the years and will continue to do so if implemented more often.

 

HOW CAN YOU HELP

You can help by donating to NGOs that offer help on the matter. Some examples on the NGOs include: Just a Drop and Planet Water Foundation. Donations can happen through

1. Just a Drop: https://www.justadrop.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAg_KbBhDLARIsANx7wAwhX9S5ML3JLFVN-sHr8ILJV7kzRmqw7KGJqtRkst0U0gYRFk4aczAaAghWEALw_wcB
2. Planet Water Foundation: https://planet-water.org/get-involved/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAg_KbBhDLARIsANx7wAybqNWa-7Q2uPohuNcB94q22-iQPYKTWsEyHcwUgwUmaaRoHDln_hYaAi9WEALw_wcB