I am an old soldier who was born and bred in Somaliland. And certainly I spoke the mother tongue since childhood. Unfortunately, I cannot read articles in Somali well. For me, they are “car ayaa kicin”…who can read them? And so, I cannot afford to spend hours just to read one article. And that is despite the fact that I know that I miss a lot of invaluable information since Somali language articles flood our websites and other media outlets.

However, the other day, I scan-read a “car ayaa kicin” article whose title was the same as “the heading of this article”. And so, I decided to share my know-how on that topic with my friends everywhere and specially with those at home. And certainly I am assuming, by doing that, I am enlightening many of them in that area which I consider as mine.

First: Water is the source, supporter and sustainer of all life

So, my dear friends let me ask; did you know that:

• Water is the source, supporter and sustainer of all life?
• Fortunately it covers about 71% of the earth’s hydrosphere?
• Of all waters on earth, 97.47% is salty unfit for direct use?
• And of the remaining 2.53% fresh water, some 67% is either trapped deep underground or frozen in polar icecaps?
• Of the other 33%, most is present as soil moisture?
• In the end, less than 1% of the world's fresh water is readily accessible for direct use?
• This readily accessible fraction is found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and in underground sources shallow enough to be tapped at affordable cost?
• If all the earth's water were to fit in a gallon jug (4 liters), available fresh water would equal just over a tablespoon?
• The human body is about 60%-- 85% water and plants over 80% water?
• Today, freshwater is becoming the most critical natural resource issue facing humanity?
• As populations grow, water use rises, demand soars, pollution increases and yet the supply is finite or limited?
• A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water?
• A human being needs about 16 to 20 liters of water per day to survive?
• But to ensure our basic needs are met, we all need 20 to 50 liters of water free from harmful contaminants each and every day?
• The average American uses 380 to 670 liters of water at home each day?
• And the average African family uses about 20 liters of water each day?
• An estimated 1.1 billion people worldwide lacks access to adequate safe water and roughly 2.2 billion people lack adequate sanitation?
• Worldwide, careless use of water resources is harming our natural habitat, our health as well as the environment?
• By 1995, 31 countries faced chronic freshwater shortages but by 2025, 48 countries are projected to face shortages affecting 2.8 billion people worldwide?
• By 2025, nearly 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa will face water scarcity?
• According to World’s Water (2002/2003) report, we must rethink the way we capture, distribute and use water if we are to meet water scarcity challenges?
• Excessive demand of water uses reduces many rivers to filthy trickle by the time they reach the sea or lake?
• Pollution is a major problem world-wide and only a few countries have adequately safeguarded water from pollution?
• Today, groundwater provides drinking water to more than 1.5 billion people daily and to many more in times of drought and/or water scarcity?
• Two thirds of the world’s population gets their water from public standpipes, wells, rivers, lakes, rainfall collected off roofs etc.?
• Unfortunately, in the Third World, more than 200 million hours are spent each day by women and female children, just to collect water from distant, often polluted sources?
• If reduction of the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water is be halved by 2015 all communities must play major roles?
• Improvements of public-health services and providing safe water and better sanitation are key to better life?
• Improved water management has brought enormous benefits to people in developing countries?
• Despite this, over a billion people have yet to benefit, with lowest coverage in rural areas and urban slums?
• And an estimated 2.6 billion people — representing half the developing world population— lack toilets and other forms of improved sanitation?
• To achieve the 2015 targets for freshwater provision, water supplies is to reach an additional 1.5 billion people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean?
• Nearly 200 million people in Africa are facing serious water shortages?
• By 2025, of an estimated 900 millions Africans, nearly 230 million will face water scarcity, and 460 million will be living in water-stressed countries?
• Water problems are more related to mismanagement than to scarcity?
• Up to 50 per cent of urban water and 60 per cent of water used in agriculture is wasted through leaks and evaporation?
• According to an international Scientific and Technological Research Group, a person living in an urban center uses in 1 day:
• 50 liters to flush the toilet; 30 liters to wash clothes in a machine; 27 liters to wash the dishes; 18 liters to water the garden; 15 liters in cooking; 10 liters, in other uses (drinking, washing hands)?
• A child born in the developed world consumes (30 to 50) times as much water as one in the Third World?
• Unfortunately, the cost of providing safe drinking water and proper sanitation to everyone in the world by 2025 is between US$111 and 180 billion a year….two to three times greater than present investments?

But Did You Know That:

• A UNEP report puts water-related global death toll at 5.3 million yearly due to poor hygiene or dirty water related diseases?
• Unfortunately, water like blood, is subject to degradation and when you drink dirty water, upon time you build poor health?
• The first rainstorm runoff from your roof-top to your catchment is usually highly contaminated due to bird-droppings and from other roof-top accumulated dirt?
• Preventable water-related diseases kill an estimated 10,000- 20,000 children each day worldwide and number is proportionately much higher in our country… again hygiene related?
• At any one time, an estimated half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases…. poor hygiene?
• That at any one time, 80% of all sicknesses in the Third World is water-related (hygiene) diseases?
• Trachoma, a water scarcity eye disease….. from lack of face washing, affects millions and blinds hundreds of thousands yearly?
• The simple act of washing your face could virtually eliminate any potential trachoma and other eye diseases?
• The simple act of hand washing can reduce diarrheal diseases by 33%?
• Basic hygiene, through hand washing and safe food handling, reduce sicknesses by 35%?
• The safe disposal of feces and other dirt reduce all diseases by 40%?
• Improving water quality (hygiene) reduces childhood diarrhea by 15-20%?
• One gram of an average healthy person’s feces contains 10,000,000 viruses?
• That that one gram contains 1,000,000 bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts and 1,000 parasite eggs?
• That if the average infective dosage (how much can make you sick) of virus to a person is 10 viruses, then an entire city of 1,000,000 persons can be infected by just one gram feces of infected person?
• In the last 10 years, diarrhea disease (poor hygiene) killed more children than all people lost in armed conflict since World War II?
• Most epidemics are due to use of dirty water and/or poor sanitation?
• The simple act of boiling your drinking water could significantly reduce the chance to get sick from water related diseases or from poor hygiene?
• The simple act of regularly spraying your toilet with (one cup of house bleach in 1000 cups of tap water) or covering your latrine can significantly reduce many poor-hygiene-related illnesses?

If you find this article interesting and of value to our communities, kindly let me know it so that I can translate it to Somali, and post it again in our websites!!!! Thanks.

By Noah Arre

noahark1382@yahoo.com