OVER 11 MILLION PEOPLE IN MADAGASCAR HAVE NO ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER.
Wow. That's almost half the population of the country. As of 2012, Madagascar had the FOURTH WORST water access in all of Africa. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (AKA "WASH") remain some of the biggest challenges related to poverty and lack of infrastructure in developing nations worldwide, and Madagascar is no exception. When it's hard to even get enough water to drink, it means no extra water for anything else. No water means no washing hands after you do your business. No washing hands means transmission of disease through food, or direct contact with the mouth & nose. Transmission of disease + limited access to healthcare = severe illness and sometimes death. Can you say domino effect?
But when you have to walk up to 6 hours to get water, washing your hands with it doesn't exactly seem like a priority.
Oh. And speaking of domino effects...imagine making any time to walk to, attend, then walk home from school when you've also got to walk for hours to get your water.
WASH is a major priority for the UN, and was, of course, part of the Millennium Development Goals (and now the new Sustainable Development Goals). This means that every nation in the UN has signed an agreement to strive to improve water access, sanitation, and hygiene for each of their citizens.
If you've never heard of the Millennium or Sustainable Development Goals, check out this video:
Onions. Just blame it on the onions.
So, here's the good news and the bad news.
The good news is, the UN's target goal for drinking water access was met in 2015. Over the last 25 years, the number of people in the world without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation has been cut in HALF! African nations still lag behind the rest of the world, but things are getting WAAY better.
And now the bad news. While safe water is getting easier to access, the world's water supply continues to dwindle, and this is, of course, most notable in northern Africa. The UN reports that water scarcity affects over 40% of the world's population, and that number is going to keep going up.
So, what does this mean for those people in Madagascar, who rely on their feet to get their water every day? Well, although only half the population currently has easy water access, that is still a MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT from 1990, when only 29.5% had access. Things are improving, and organizations such as UNWater, water.org, and WaterAid are making tremendous progress. Consider supporting these organizations if you have a couple bucks to spare. Got a birthday coming up? Many of these organizations have cards and gifts you can purchase as a gift in a friend's name. Or, instead of taking someone out for dinner for their birthday, make a donation in their honor. I'd be thrilled to receive such a gift (*wink wink nudge nudge*)!
And now the bad news. While safe water is getting easier to access, the world's water supply continues to dwindle, and this is, of course, most notable in northern Africa. The UN reports that water scarcity affects over 40% of the world's population, and that number is going to keep going up.
So, what does this mean for those people in Madagascar, who rely on their feet to get their water every day? Well, although only half the population currently has easy water access, that is still a MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT from 1990, when only 29.5% had access. Things are improving, and organizations such as UNWater, water.org, and WaterAid are making tremendous progress. Consider supporting these organizations if you have a couple bucks to spare. Got a birthday coming up? Many of these organizations have cards and gifts you can purchase as a gift in a friend's name. Or, instead of taking someone out for dinner for their birthday, make a donation in their honor. I'd be thrilled to receive such a gift (*wink wink nudge nudge*)!
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