The water crisis. The 2020 barometer of Solidarités International has just been released

 

Whereas the combat against climate change has become a priority around the world, the issue of access to water and drainage for all, both essential daily requirements, remains mostly ignored by the media and international decision-makers. A major actor in the combat for universal access to drinking water, Solidarités International  recalls the urgent need to act in its 2020 edition of the Barometer of Water, Health and Drainage: The crisis of water. More than an inventory, a state of emergency!

 

Access to drinking water and drainage, a right recognised by the United Nations

The following figures highlight the problem: today, 2.2 billion human beings remain without access to domestic access to drinking water, and 4.2 billion lack safe drainage facilities. 2.6 million people, mainly children, continue to die every year from diseases linked to improper water whereas, since 2010, access to drinking water and drainage have been recognised as basic human rights by the United Nations.

For its part, France launched its new international strategy for water and drainage in February (2020-2030) organised according to 3 targets of action :

• Improve the governance of the water and drainage sector, from the local to the global scale;
• Strengthen the security of water supplies for all in a context of increasing pressure on resources and a growing number of crises related to water;
• Increase the efficiency of means and tools, by favouring the development of innovative solutions and social funding mechanisms.

Alert on the Fouta Djalon massif in West Africa

On the occasion of World Water Day on 22 March 2020, and in preparation for the 9th World Water Forum (WWF) in Dakar in March 2021, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL sounded the alarm in the highly detailed 6^th edition of its barometer that also contains a wealth of testimonies. Emphasis is placed on the water situation in the Sahel countries, with the contribution of IFGR. Signed jointly by Erik Orsenna, Chairman of IFGR and Hamed Diane Semega, High Commissioner of OMVS and member of our association, the article titled “water must remain a resource of life in West Africa” recalled the urgent need to preserve the Fouta Djalon massif, the water tower of West Africa, which supplies a network of 15 rivers in 8 of the region’s countries (read p.19).

Consult the Barometer 2020 

Crédit photo : IFGR / Camille Moirenc