World Water Day: Over 2 Million people lack access to clean water globally

Hikmat Bamigboye

The Nigerian government says there is the need to provide clean and safe water for over two billion people that lack access to water.

The Nigerian Minister of Water Resources  Engineer Suleiman Adamu who  stated this at the 2022 World Water Day, also  said it will help Nigeria achieve sustainable development goal 6 of water and sanitation for all.

He said that an estimated 60 percent of the Nigerian population depends on ground water for their main drinking Water Source while 70 percent of the people living in the feral communities in  Nigeria depend on the same ground water for survival.

He also said that to properly access and manage ground water resources of the country, the Federal Government has drilled and instructed 70 Groundwater monitoring wells across the major acquire of the country.

“All hands must be on deck to recognise its enormous ecological value for the many surface water bodies and wetland that depend on its. We need acknowledge and mitigate pressure from exploitation, contamination and climate change on Groundwater”. She said

He also said that it was important to stress that Groundwater is an infinite resource that could be depleted when more water is abstracted from the aquifers than being recharged by rain or snow.

“Unfortunately over abstraction by humans and climate variability are increasing the pressure on Groundwater resources”. He noted.

Also speaking at the event, the head of WASH Action Against Hunger, Mr kanaganathan Raganiya said that ensuring that everyone has access to Groundwater sanitation and hygiene Life required Joint action.

He added that the responsibility to make the invisible visible and also to facilitate groundwater while it becomes visible through positive decisions for humanity lies with all.

“Stakeholders here today, we confidently say that we have diligently strived to create access to water through our numerous WASH interventions across Nigeria. In the past 2 years, in collaboration with FMWR and NIHSA, Action Against Huger, has invested in the groundwater surveillance project, piloted across North East Nigeria, as aquifer tracking locations for the Lake Nigerian Government should be decisive in investing creating access to potable water for both rural and urban dwellers Increase budgetary allocation to water, sanitation and hygiene Relevant stakeholders become more accountable to the Nigerian populace on funding allocations to WASH”. He said

The theme of this years World Water Day celebration is ” Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible, highlighting the importance of groundwater to the environment and communities”.