Clean Water

Water Action Decade, 2018-202840 percent shortfall in freshwater resources by 2030 coupled with a rising worldpopulation has the world careening towards a global water crisis. Recognizing the growing challenge of water scarcity the UN General Assembly launched the Water Action Decade on 22 March 2018, to mobilize action that will help transform how we manage water.Why it matters: Clean Water and SanitationInfographic: Clean Water and SanitationFacts and figuresGoal 6 targetsLinks1 in 4 health care facilities lacks basic water services3 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.Between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the global population using an improved drinking water source has increased from 76 per cent to 90 per centWater 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.2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrinesMore than 80 per cent of wastewater resulting from human activities is discharged into rivers or sea without any pollution removalEach day, nearly 1,000 children die due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrheal diseasesApproximately 70 per cent of all water abstracted from rivers, lakes and aquifers is used for irrigationFloods and other water-related disasters account for 70 per cent of all deaths related to natural disasters