| dc.description.abstract | Water is the basis of our life and without it human beings cannot live for more than a few days. Nearly every function of our body depends on sufficient water. It is for this reason that the lack of access to clean water has a major effect on people's health. Contaminated water, whether consumed or used for cooking purposes, can be detrimental to a person's health. ln 2000, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that 1.1 billion people did not have access to sufficient water supply (80 per cent of them are living in rural areas), needing at least 20 litres of safe water per person per day and that an estimated 2.4 billion people were without sanitation Furthermore, an estimated 2.3 billion people suffer from diseases linked to water each year. According to the United Nations World Water Development Report, seven billion people in 60 countries could face water scarcity by 2050.2 ln just 20 years, the report predicts that the average supply of water per person worldwide will have dropped by one bird, affecting almost every nation and especially those on the economic edge of poverty. Fresh water accounts for only 2,7% of the earth's water, of which less than half a percent is surface water, to be found in lakes and rivers.3 | en_US |
