Page 20 - University of Pretoria Research Review 2017
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WATER
Directly linked to SDG 6, water is the most critical of the world’s life support systems and therefore central to the global sustainable development agenda and many of the other SDGs. Access to clean water is a basic human right. The lack of access to safe potable water predominantly affects those living in poverty in rural areas in developing regions, and on the margins of cities in informal settlements. The World Health Organization estimates that, globally, two billion people use a water source contaminated with faeces. This impacts on public health, as contaminated water can transmit diseases such diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. Approximately 90% of diarrhoeal deaths worldwide are attributed to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene*. It is estimated that by 2025 half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas.
* http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water (WHO, 7 February 2018)
Adriaan Oosthuizen, Die Dam
