Tapping into water poverty

Turning on a tap and having running water may be taken for granted - notwithstanding the proposed hefty water tariffs - but 85 per cent of the global population do not enjoy that luxury.

About 1.1 billion people around the world live more than one kilometre away from their water sources - quite a marathon distance from a bathroom - and 2.6 billion simply do not have access to sanitary facilities. The water used to have a shower in a developed country may be a life-saving element for someone living across the world, where people have to choose between thirst and disease every day.

In the light of these stark realities, SOS Malta has chosen the UN's Stand Up Against Poverty day tomorrow to launch its Water For Life project, funded by the European Commission and Minority Rights Group International and aimed at raising awareness and funds to combat water poverty.

The idea is to sensitise the public to the issue and encourage a sense of responsibility in the developed world about the lack of water and sanitation in developing countries, particularly in view of the environmental situation, climate change and pollution, SOS Malta project manager Philippa Arrigo said.

The fact that everyone has a right to water is a specific focus of SOS Malta, which has been working on the issue since 2005, when, following the Boxing Day tsunami in Asia, it started implementing rainwater harvesting projects in Sri Lanka, whereby water is collected for the dry seasons.

SOS Malta financed the training of locals to learn how to set up the system in their villages, Ms Arrigo explained, expressing the belief in empowering persons on the ground and encouraging them to take ownership.

Its work on water is now spreading into Africa and it has established contact with the Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Association (ERHA).

The funds raised from SOS Malta's Water For Life project should be poured into its initiatives in both Sri Lanka and Ethiopia, Ms Arrigo said, explaining that it would have to identify the Ethiopian villages that would be benefitting.

Malta's policy is to focus on the countries from where immigrants are arriving and which had drought and sanitation problems, Ms Arrigo said, although Sri Lanka did not fit into that area of the world.

Malta is obliged to increase its development assistance, she pointed out. By 2015, it would have to be giving 0.33 per cent of its GNI to developing countries, up from the current 0.15 per cent in overseas development assistance.

Recalling the Millennium Development Goals, Ms Arrigo said governments promised to halve the number of people without access to safe water and improve sanitation within the next seven years.

As regards awareness, SOS Malta is targeting 20 secondary schools and organising an art competition, with the theme being the right to water and development. It is producing 5,000 calendars for corporate companies on the same subject.