Accelerating the Change to Solve the Water and Sanitation Crisis
To have a day set aside to honour water means that for sure, it is a basic, precious and important commodity in our lives. It is a day celebrated every March 22nd, worldwide, to create awareness of the water crisis we face. A theme is created each year to help us push towards achieving the same goal for our benefit and that of mankind.
The first World Water Day Was observed on March 22, 1993, after which, the United Nations General Assembly adopted and agreed to the idea of World Water Day on December 22, 1992.
Every year since 1993, World Water Day raises awareness and inspires action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. Every year it carries the main objective which is to inspire people to sustainably manage freshwater resources and learn more about water-related issues like water pollution, water scarcity, inadequate water and lack of sanitation, and take appropriate steps to make a difference.
Everyone knows that ‘Water is the secret potion of life’. From drinking to cleaning to cooking to agriculture and other things, life cannot sustain without it. While many people are privileged to have running water 24×7, there is a huge population around the globe that does not have access to any amount of water.
According to the United Nations website, the idea behind celebrating the day is to support the achievement of sustainable development goal (SDG) 6: Water and Sanitation for All by 2030. It goes further to explain the target as, providing Safe and affordable drinking water, ending open defecation by providing access to sanitation and hygiene, improving water quality, wastewater treatment and safe reuse, increasing water-use efficiency and ensuring freshwater supplies, implementing Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems.
As for the World Water Day 2023 Theme;
The theme for World Water Day 2023 is “Accelerating the change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.” The theme emphasizes the requirement for stern action to protect the world from the water crisis. Research has proven that inadequate access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene causes death to around 1.4 million people annually, and 74 million people cut their life short. Furthermore, around 44% of household wastewater globally is not treated properly. Therefore, global water demand is expected to increase by 55% by 2050.
The UN explains that “Clean water is a basic human need, and one that should be easily accessible to all. There is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this. However, due to poor infrastructure, investment and planning, every year millions of people (most of them children) die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.”
Change begins with us, change is us. Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water, we should therefore conserve water with everything we have and for everything, we’ll have.
