{"id":59334,"date":"2023-03-20T14:06:06","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T18:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthynewbornnetwork.org\/?post_type=news-item&p=59334"},"modified":"2023-11-21T12:35:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T17:35:18","slug":"triple-threat-of-water-related-crises-endangering-lives-of-190-million-children","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/www.healthynewbornnetwork.org\/news-item\/triple-threat-of-water-related-crises-endangering-lives-of-190-million-children\/","title":{"rendered":"A triple threat of water-related crises is endangering the lives of 190 million children – UNICEF"},"content":{"rendered":"

As world leaders prepare to attend the historic UN Water Conference, UNICEF calls for urgent investment in climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services to protect children. <\/em><\/strong>This article was originally published by UNICEF<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

NEW YORK, 20 March 2023<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 190 million children in 10 African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats \u2013 inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); related diseases; and climate hazards \u2013 according to a new UNICEF analysis.<\/p>\n

The triple threat was found to be most acute in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, C\u00f4te d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia, making West and Central Africa one of the world’s most water-insecure and climate-impacted regions, according to the analysis. Many of the worst-affected countries, particularly in the Sahel, are also facing instability and armed conflict, further aggravating children\u2019s access to clean water and sanitation.<\/p>\n

“Africa is facing a water catastrophe. While climate and water-related shocks are escalating globally, nowhere else in the world do the risks compound as severely for children,\u201d said UNICEF Director of Programmes Sanjay Wijesekera. \u201cDevastating storms, floods, and historic droughts are already destroying facilities and homes, contaminating water resources, creating hunger crises, and spreading disease. But as challenging as the current conditions are, without urgent action, the future could be much more bleak.”<\/p>\n

The global analysis \u2013 which reviewed household access to WASH services, the burden of WASH-attributable deaths among children under five, and exposure to climate and environmental hazards \u2013 reveals where children face the biggest threat and where investment in solutions is desperately needed to prevent unnecessary deaths.<\/p>\n

Across the 10 hotspots, nearly one-third of children do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-thirds do not have basic sanitation services. A quarter of children have no choice but to practice open defecation. Hand hygiene is also limited, with three-quarters of children unable to wash their hands because of lack of water and soap at home.<\/p>\n

As a result, these countries also carry the heaviest burden of child deaths from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, such as diarrhoeal diseases. For example, 6 of the 10 have faced cholera outbreaks over the past year. Globally, more than 1,000 children under five die every day from WASH-related diseases, with around 2 out of 5 concentrated in these 10 countries alone.<\/p>\n

These hotspots also rank within the top 25 per cent of 163 countries globally with the highest risk of exposure to climate and environmental threats. Higher temperatures \u2013 which accelerate pathogen replication \u2013 are increasing 1.5 times faster than the global average in parts of West and Central Africa. Groundwater levels are also dropping, requiring some communities to dig wells twice as deep as just a decade ago. At the same time, rainfall has become more erratic and intense, leading to floods that contaminate scarce water supplies.<\/p>\n

All 10 hotspot countries are also classified by\u00a0OECD as fragile or extremely fragile, with the stresses of armed conflict in some countries threatening to reverse progress toward safe water and sanitation. For example, Burkina Faso has seen a ramping up of attacks on water facilities as a tactic to displace communities. Fifty-eight water points were attacked in 2022, up from 21 in 2021, and three in 2020. As a result, more than 830,000 people \u2013 over half of whom are children \u2013 lost access to safe drinking water in the last year.<\/p>\n

The new analysis comes ahead of the\u00a0UN 2023 Water Conference<\/a>\u00a0taking place in New York from 22-24 March. World leaders, relevant organizations and other participants will convene for the first time in 46 years to review progress toward ensuring access to water and sanitation for all. At the conference, UNICEF is calling for:<\/p>\n