Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa water, Sanitation Mar- Apr 2015 Vol.10 No.2 | Page 17

Water is health

Clean hands can save your life.

by freshwater ecosystems. This leads to unsustainable use of
water resources and ecosystem degradation. For example, the
Okavango river in Africa is one of the last unspoilt ecosystems
on earth. Pollution from untreated residential and industrial
wastewater and agricultural run-off also weakens the capacity of
ecosystem to provide water-related services.
There is a need to shift towards environmentally sustainable
economic policies that take account of the interconnection
between ecological systems. One challenge is to maintain
a beneficial mix between built and natural infrastructure and
provision of their respective services.

Water is essential to human health. The human body can
last weeks without food, but only days without water. Water is
essential to our survival. Regular handwashing, is for example
one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and
prevent the spread of germs to others. Up to one trillion germs
can live in one gram of poop.
As for the human body, in average it is made of 50-65% water.
Babies have the highest percentage of water; newborns are
78% water. Every day, every person needs access to water for
drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. Water is essential for
sanitation facilities that do not compromise health or dignity.
The World Health Organization recommends 7.5 liters per capita
per day will meet the requirements of most people under most
conditions. A higher quantity of about 20 liters per capita per day
will take care of basic hygiene needs and basic food hygiene.
Despite impressive gains made over the last decade, 748 million
people do not have access to an improved source of drinking
water and 2.5 billion do not use an improved sanitation facility.
Investments in water and sanitation services result in substantial
economic gains. The return on investment of attaining universal
access to improved sanitation has been estimated at 5.5 to
1, whereas for universal access of improved drinking-water
sources the ration is estimated to be 2 to 1.To cover every
person worldwide with safe water and sanitation is estimated to
cost US$ 107 billion a year over a five-year period.

Water is nature

Ecosystems lie at the heart of
the global water cycle.

Economic arguments can make the preservation of ecosystems
relevant to decision-makers and planners. Ecosystem valuation
demonstrates that benefits far exceed costs of water-related
investments in ecosystem conservation. Valuation is also
important in assessing trade-offs in ecosystem conservation,
and can be used to better inform development plans. Adoption
of ‘ecosystem-based management’ is key to ensuring water
long-term sustainability.

Water is urbanization

Every week, one million people move
into cities.

Today, one in two people on the planet live in a city. And the
world’s cities are growing at an exceptional rate – 4 people
moved to cities in the time it took you to read this sentence. 93%
of the urbanization occurs in poor or developing countries, and
nearly 40% of the world’s urban expansion is growing slums.
Projections show that another 2.5 billion people will move to
urban centres by 2050.
The 2014 report of “World Urbanization Prospects” by UN
DESA’s Population Division notes that the largest urban growth
will take place in India, China and Nigeria.
“Managing urban areas has become one of the most important
development challenges of the 21st century. Our success or
failure in building sustainable cities will be a major factor in the
success of the post-2015 UN development agenda,” said John
Wilmoth, Director of UN DESA’s Population Division.

Ecosystems – including, for example, forests, wetlands
and grassland – lie at the heart of the global water cycle.
All freshwater ultimately depends on the continued healthy
functioning of ecosystems, and recognizing the water cycle is
essential to achieving sustainable water management. Yet most
economic models do not value the essential services provided

Thousands of kilometres of pipes make up each city’s water
infrastructure. Many antiquated systems waste more freshwater
than they deliver. In many fast-growing cities (small and
medium-sized cities with populations of less than 500,000),
wastewater infrastructure is non-existent, inadequate or
outdated.

Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • March - April 2015

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