22 March marks the opening of the United Nations Water Conference in New York. This is a historic moment because, for the first time in half a century, states are meeting to discuss access to water and sanitation and the protection of water resources.
In the 21st century, access to water remains a major issue: one person in four worldwide has no access to drinking water and one in three has no access to a toilet, according to the World Health Organization. Illnesses linked to a lack of water, sanitation and hygiene kill 1.4 million people every year and reduce the life expectancy of 74 million people (WHO, 2022). Although water was recognised as a fundamental human right in 2010, the lack of a water connection remains a challenge for 400,000 people living in substandard housing in France. The situation is far worse in the overseas territories.
Access to water also remains a vital issue for 180 million people in conflict zones or humanitarian crises. According to UNICEF, children are twenty times more likely to die of a water-related disease than to die in armed conflict. People without access to water are forced to leave their land, causing tensions between pastoral communities and settled farmers, as in South Sudan and Afghanistan.
World Water Day seeks to promote change to resolve the water and sanitation crisis. HAMAP-Humanitaire is committed to access to water and sanitation through the supply and extension of drinking water works, the training of sustainable water management committees, and the creation and connection of drinking water services.