World Water Day 2020
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World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, focuses on the importance of freshwater.
World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Every year, UN-Water coordinates the United Nations international observances on freshwater and sanitation. Depending on the official UN theme of the campaign, they are led by one or more UN-Water Members and Partners with a related mandate. On World Water Day, UN-Water releases the World Water Development Report focusing on the same topic as the campaign.
This Day is an opportunity to learn more about water-related issues, be inspired to tell others and take action to make a difference. Water is an essential building block of life. It is more than just essential to quench thirst or protect health; water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development.
Globally, 785 million people do not have access to a basic drinking-water service. And even for those who have access to water — the very resource on which a healthy, productive life depends — services are often inadequate to meet basic needs. Across sub-Saharan Africa, 30 per cent to 50 per cent of rural systems are nonfunctional within five years of being built, and utilities in urban areas often ration water servicing. Similarly, water is often contaminated from urban, industrial, and…
