The Nigerian government says the demand for water will exceed 40% by end of the decade.
The Nigerian Minister of Water Resources,Suleiman Adamu who stated this at the 2023 World Water Day, said it would help Nigeria achieve sustainable development goal 6 of water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Adamu noted that drop by drop, the precious lifeblood is being poisoned by pollution with water demand expected to exceed supply by 40% by decade end.
Active response
He said the objective of the global event was to galvanise action towards active response to water crisis and seek a way to take measures to improve access to potable water supply while achieving the target sets out in the sustainable developing goal six – water and sanitation for all by the year 2020.
“Let me reiterate the commitment of this administration to continue collaborating with development partners and donors in engaging with a range of stakeholders and supporting government’s strategic approach to proper execution of water policies in the country, “ he said
He also said that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO has raised alarm that two-third of the world’s population could face water shortages by 2050.
Deteriorating
Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO has lamented that global water availability and quality were deteriorating, calling for immediate action to halt the development.
FAO representative, Mr Fred Kafeero, raised the alarm in his message at the event.
“Over 700 million people face high and critical water stress and over 90 per cent of natural disasters are water related. The situation is
worsening. Global water availability and quality are deteriorating. Climate change is intensifying. Competition between sectors and countries is increasing. By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population could face water shortages,” he said.
Growing demand
He noted that agriculture currently accounts for 72 percent of freshwater withdrawals, insisting that on current trends, an additional 35 per cent in water resources would be needed by 2050 to meet growing demand for food, fibre and feed.
“At the same time, demand for other uses is increasing. These numbers clearly don’t add up. This is hugely worrying for efforts to end hunger and poverty, because there can be no food and agriculture, and the livelihoods it supports, without clean and sufficient water – for irrigation of crops, for livestock, and for the many species that live in aquatic ecosystems,“ Kafeero said.
“Agriculture, including forestry, fisheries and aquaculture also plays a crucial role in the management of surface water, ground water recharge and even circulation of atmospheric water, thanks to forests.”
“If we are to protect the future of food, and meet the Sustainable Development Goals, the needs and role of agriculture must be supported.
“The key is to act now with integrated water resource management approaches to produce more food, fibre, feed and biofuel with less water, more sustainably,” he said.
The Chief WASH Nigeria, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Jane Bevan, said an estimated 78 million children in Nigeria were suffering from poor water access at the moment.
“At least, a third of all of the children in Nigeria do not have access to water at home and do not have access to basic sanitation,“She said.
“So we need to do more not less than the children of Nigeria we owe it to them to really come together, invest more in water and do our best to reach everybody.”
The theme of this year’s World Water Day celebration is ‘Accelerating Change to Solve the Water and Sanitation Crisis.’
Lateefah Ibrahim
