September 7, 2012. (Romereports.com) Currently 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water. According to the World Health Organization 2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation and around 4,000 children die every day from water borne diseases.
It's estimated that in the next 50 years, the world population will increase by 40 to 50 percent. This along with industrialization and urbanization, will increase demands for water and have a lasting impact on the environment.
TEBALDO VINCIGUERRA
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
“The main regions are those with little water in respect to its population or that have highly polluted water resources. We can think of some parts of Africa, around the Sahel, but also in Asia where a large population or a future large population can lack sufficient water resources or have some that are too polluted. There is also the possibility that people can't get sufficient quantity or quality in their water.”
The last week of August was the internationally recognized 'Week of Water,' which is meant to raise awareness of the problem. This year, the campaign focused on the relationship between access to water and food security.
TEBALDO VINCIGUERRA
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
“Food security is linked with water in different ways. Of course there are both rights that are very important: the right to water and the right to food, both of which are recognized by the United Nations. To produce food, we need water. The evolution from a diet that is very simple to a diet that is much more complex requires a lot of water. The diets of today's more developed countries can not be easily multiplied and developed in the world, because of environmental reasons that would not make it possible.”
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is working to find a solution. It's also collaborating with other Vatican departments such as Cor Unum and Caritas Internationalis.
TEBALDO VINCIGUERRA
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
“The current water situation has not changed course since March when the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued a proposal document to World Water Forum that took place in Marseille. In this paper, we remember that international statistics say that between 800 and 900 million people have no water.”
The document by the Pontifical Council is a step toward achieving one of the UN's Millennium Development Goals: to cut in half, by 2015, the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
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