Approximately one in four children worldwide will live in
regions with extremely scarce water resources by 2040, UNICEF said in a report
Wednesday.
The Agency noted that drought and conflict are factors
behind water scarcity in parts of Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, the
report says. Nearly 1.4 million children in those areas facing “imminent risk
of death” from famine.
In research released on World Water Day, the United
Nations children’s agency warned that in just over two decades nearly 600
million children will be living in areas with severely limited safe water
sources, as population growth and surging demand for water clash with the
effects of climate change.
More than 36 countries are currently enduring extreme
water stress, the report said, with water demand exceeding available renewable
supplies.
Rising temperatures and droughts can leave children at
risk for dehydration, according to UNICEF, while increased rain and flooding
can destroy sanitation infrastructure and help spread water-borne diseases like
cholera.
More than 800 children under the age of five die every day
from diarrhoea linked to poor sanitation and scarce clean water sources, the
report said.
Drought and conflict are factors behind water scarcity in
parts of Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, the report says. Nearly 1.4
million children in those areas facing “imminent risk of death” from famine.
More than 9 million people in Ethiopia alone will lack
access to safe drinking water this year, according to agency projections.
Without water “nothing can grow,” said UNICEF Executive
Director Anthony Lake.
“Millions of children lack access to safe water —
endangering their lives, undermining their health, and jeopardising their
futures.”
The crisis “will only grow unless we take collective
action now,” he said.
UNICEF urged communities to diversify water sources, and
for governments to prioritise access to safe water for vulnerable children.
In another report released Wednesday, the UN said
recycling the world’s wastewater — almost all of which goes untreated — would
ease global water shortages while protecting the environment.
Two-thirds of all humans live in areas that experience
water scarcity at least one month a year — half of them in China and India.
Last year, the World Economic Forum’s annual survey of
opinion leaders identified water crises as the top global risk over the next
decade.
On current trends, the UN Environment Program forecasts
that water demand — for industry, energy and an extra billion people — will
increase 50 percent by 2030.
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