Urgent action needed to deal with water emergency

Photo: Filepic/The Star

FIVE months since I began my role as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Water, I am more convinced than ever that we are facing an escalating emergency for we live in a world where water is often “too much”, “too little” or “too dirty”.

In many countries people are facing the risks of flooding when water is “too much”. Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund reports that this year, half of the world’s population may be living in water-scarce areas – clear evidence that water is also becoming “too little”. The World Health Organisation also estimates that approximately one million people die each year from diarrhoeal diseases linked to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation and inadequate hygiene, reflecting how the world’s water is “too dirty”.