UN chief’s message for World Water Day

(March 21, 2011) The United Nations chief is urging governments to recognize that the urban water crisis is a crisis of governance, weak policies and poor management, saying more than 800 million people in the world still without access to safe drinking water or sanitation. “Without water there is no dignity and no escape from poverty,” warned UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a message for the March 22 World Water Day, Tuesday, whose theme this year is “Water for Cities”. He said that in little over a generation, 60 per cent of the global population will be living in towns and cities, with much of the increase taking place in the inner city slums and squatter settlements of the developing world. Over the past decade, the number of urban dwellers who lack access to a water tap in their home or immediate vicinity has risen by an estimated 114 million, and the number of those who lack access to the most basic sanitation facilities has risen by 134 million. This 20 per cent increase has had a hugely detrimental impact on human health and on economic productivity: people are sick and unable to work. Noting how because of lack of access to water and sanitation girls drop out of school, women carrying water are harassed and the poor are forced to buy water at exorbitant prices, the UN chief said that it is ‘not just unsustainable; it is unacceptable.” He therefore urged governments to recognize the urban water crisis for what it is - a crisis of governance, weak policies and poor management, rather than one of scarcity. Ban Ki-moon also urged all to re-commit themselves commitment to ending the plight of the more than 800 million people who, in a world of plenty, still do not have the safe drinking water or sanitation they need for a life in dignity and good health.