When you think about how to build a better world, think about providing clean water to about 663 million people worldwide who don’t have it. Water availability and access are connected to all the things we need to create the future we want, according to U.N. Water.
On World Water Day, March 22, U.N. Water highlights the importance of water and sustainable development in health, urbanization, industry, energy, agriculture and equal opportunities for women and girls.
This international focus has been influential in the progress that’s been made in delivering clean water to greater numbers of people. Today, improved drinking water flows to 2.6 billion more people than received it in 1990, according to the U.N.
Water improves the quality of life for the world’s poorest people:
- Better health
- Clean water allows better hygiene and sanitation and reduces exposure to waterborne diseases that sicken hundreds of millions of people a year.
- Economic growth
- The burden of disease and premature death is lessened by water access, which lets people devote more time to productive activity and emerge from poverty.
- Improving the lives of women and girls
- Women and girls in developing countries can spend hours each day collecting water. Water access gives them more time for learning and earning.
Do you know how your community is marking World Water Day? The U.N. has an interactive map showing events taking place all over the globe.