Too many living without good water

WATER is life. And no one on Earth can live without it.
You can go without food for a day or two but the same cannot be said of water.
Fresh water is necessary for the survival of all living organisms on Earth.
Our bodies are made up of about 60 per cent water and we cannot survive for long without it.
Water is a precious substance that meets our physical needs while at the same time being of great spiritual importance to many people.
Tomorrow around the world, celebrations and activities are being held to mark World Water Day. This is an international observance and an opportunity to learn more about water-related issues, and be inspired to tell others and take action to make a difference. It is a day to focus attention on the importance of water.
Water, we all know, is an essential building block of life.
It is more than just essential to satisfy thirst or protect health; water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development.
Unicef PNG says that while we as a country have made progress to improve access to clean water and sanitation facilities, there is still much work to be done.
Access to good water in PNG has increased slightly since 1990 but access to sanitation facilities during the same period has declined.
Unless considerable improvements are made by the government and development partners, PNG will miss the national targets identified in the government’s development strategic plan 2030 and the recently approved National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) policy.
Despite there being many rivers and tributaries in the country, the sad truth is that not everyone has access to clean water.
Many in villagers have to walk far to get water. As if that is not enough, for many living in towns and cities, getting water is a struggle every day.
A study in 2016 released to mark World Water Day said PNG, where 60 per cent of the population live without a safe water supply, has the poorest access to clean water in the world.
While that is shocking, there has been progress in bringing reliable, clean water supplies closer to many of the most remote communities in PNG
The Water Supply & Sanitation Development Project is an initiative of the government and supported by the World Bank.
The project was formally agreed on a year ago.
It involves the supply of clean drinking water to communities.
The WASH programme implemented in conjunction with the World Bank will help ensure that the government’s ambitious policy goals are met.
The US$70 million (PGK223 million) project will deliver access to clean and reliable water supply services for tens of thousands of people living in nine provincial towns and 10 rural districts across the country.
The Department of National Planning & Monitoring and Water PNG, as the implementing agencies, will oversee the expansion of water services to provincial and district towns that do not have water supply systems.
The project will also see support to households for the installation of new or refurbished piped water connections, with the aim of reducing the need for communities to collect water from distant sources – a task that is disproportionately borne by women and girls.
According the United Nations, there are over 663 million people in the world who are living without a safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours queuing or trekking to distant sources, and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water.
We could spare a thought and be conservative on our water use as others definitely do not have that luxury.