Obstacles to Development

Access to Fresh, Safe Water

What are the main causes of global inequalities?

 How does a lack of
access to safe water
and access to sanitation
lead to poverty and
inequalities?
Do now - make a list
of all the ways you use
water in your daily life.
What are the problems related to access to water?
What’s the difference between….
Access to safe water? Access to sanitation?
Access to safe water
 Read through the
article here:
Task: Access to safe drinking water
https://www.theguardian.
com/global-development-
professionals-network/20
17/mar/17/access-to-drin
king-water-world-six-info
graphics

And record:

- ONE thing
that surprised
you.
- ONE thing
that interests
you.
- One thing that
troubles you.
On average, a person needs about 20
liters of safe water each day to meet his
or her metabolic, hygienic, and
domestic needs. Without safe water,
people cannot lead healthy, productive
lives.

The adult human body is about 50 to

65% water.

A child’s body is approximately 75%

water.

The human brain is about 75% water.

The human body can live for weeks

without food, but can only survive a few
days without water.
(source: Water org)
Access to safe water: Access to safe water
measured by the number of
people who have a
reasonable means of getting
an adequate amount of water
that is safe for drinking,
washing, and essential
household activities.

Expressed as a percentage of
the total population.

What is your country’s %? -

use this resource It reflects the health of a country’s people and the
country’s capacity to collect, clean, and distribute
water to consumers.
Activity
Objective:
To understand the global disparities in access to safe drinking water and its impact on development, especially in Low
Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs).

Directions:
1. Visit the UNICEF website on Drinking Water: UNICEF Data on Drinking Water
2. Browse through the various sections, paying close attention to the data, graphs, and case studies.
3. Choose one section that interests you the most and take notes on the key points.
4. Prepare a brief summary (around 150 words) on what you learned from that section, focusing on its relevance to global
inequalities and development.

● Topics to Focus On:

● 1. Global disparities in access to safe drinking water
● 2. The impact of unsafe water on child health
● 3. Gender roles in water collection
● 4. The economic cost of lack of access to safe water
● 5. Strategies and interventions for improving water access
Saudi Arabia - access to safe drinking water
 ● 844 million people lack even a basic
drinking-water service, including 159
million people who are dependent on
surface water.

● Globally, at least 2 billion people use a

drinking water source contaminated with
faeces.

● In low- and middle-income countries, 38%

of health care facilities lack an improved
water source, 19% do not have improved
sanitation, and 35% lack water and soap
for handwashing.
(Source: WHO)
Today, 1 in 9 people lack
access to safe water; 1
in 3 people lack access
to a toilet. More people
have a mobile phone
than a toilet. We can
change this. (source: Water
org)

220 million urban

residents in the
developing world lack a
source of safe drinking
water near their homes.
90% of urban
sewage in the
developing world
is discharged into
rivers, lakes, and
coastal waterways
without any
treatment.

(Source: E. Thys)
Access to sanitation
Agriculture consumes
60 to 80% of the
freshwater resources
in most countries,
and as much as 90%
in others. (Source: R.
France)
Contaminated water can
transmit diseases such
diarrhoea, cholera,
dysentery, typhoid, and
polio.

Some 842 000 people are

estimated to die each year
from diarrhoea as a result of
unsafe drinking-water,
sanitation, and hand
hygiene. (Source: WHO)
Diarrhoea is the most widely
known disease linked to
contaminated food and water
but there are other hazards.
Almost 240 million people are
affected by schistosomiasis –
an acute and chronic disease
caused by parasitic worms
contracted through exposure to
infested water.
 By 2025, half of the world’s population will be living
in water-stressed areas.

The rapid growth of cities

throughout the world can
strain the capacity of
governments to provide
adequate sanitary
facilities, leaving
inhabitants, especially
the poor, to live amid
unhealthy open sewage
ditches.
Untreated sewage also tends to
contaminate the water reserves closest to
the cities, forcing communities to pipe
water from further and further away as
cities expand.

India (source: Wikiwand)