Access to Water
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developed countries, safe drinking water is taken for granted and is treated as
an infinite supply. However, in developing countries they are not as lucky.
Countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda and Papua New Guinea have a very limited
water supply. It is not enough to just get water; it is also necessary that the
water is clean and filtered of all bacteria and diseases. Countries in Africa
and the Middle East do not have enough water due to location, whereas countries
in Asia don’t get sanitary water due to pollution. Sometimes, people have to
result to drinking unsanitary water, which can cause many terrible diseases
such as cholera and typhoid.
Water access can be affected by climate (e.g. low/high precipitation) and location (e.g. nearest bodies of water such as rivers, ocean, etc.) but the main reason is due to wealth. Developed countries such as Australia are wealthy and can afford to build dams and create water filtration systems. In Africa, however, they do not have this privilege. Sometimes, people have to walk for miles just to get the water needed to survive.
A lack of water and unsanitary water is the cause of 1.6 million deaths of children under the age of 5 each year, and around 1 in 5 people do not have access to safe drinking water. In total, 3.4 million people die from water scarcity and unsanitary water.
One organisation that is working towards an adequate amount of drinkable water is AusAID. An example of their work is creating a supply of safe water for over 400,000 people and another 200,00 by creating a sanitation facility in Vietnam. Other organisations involved in creating sustainable supplies of clean water are UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund, see Help be Part of the Solution page), WHO (the World Health Organisation) and World Vision.
Water access can be affected by climate (e.g. low/high precipitation) and location (e.g. nearest bodies of water such as rivers, ocean, etc.) but the main reason is due to wealth. Developed countries such as Australia are wealthy and can afford to build dams and create water filtration systems. In Africa, however, they do not have this privilege. Sometimes, people have to walk for miles just to get the water needed to survive.
A lack of water and unsanitary water is the cause of 1.6 million deaths of children under the age of 5 each year, and around 1 in 5 people do not have access to safe drinking water. In total, 3.4 million people die from water scarcity and unsanitary water.
One organisation that is working towards an adequate amount of drinkable water is AusAID. An example of their work is creating a supply of safe water for over 400,000 people and another 200,00 by creating a sanitation facility in Vietnam. Other organisations involved in creating sustainable supplies of clean water are UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund, see Help be Part of the Solution page), WHO (the World Health Organisation) and World Vision.