GENEVA (Reuters) – A total of 275,000 people have been displaced by drought in western Afghanistan – 52,000 more than the number uprooted by conflict this year – with over two million threatened by the effects of water shortages, the United Nations said.
Reports from the U.N. and aid charities described farmers lacking seeds to sow following crop failures in some areas and livestock dying for the want of anything to eat.
Afghanistan, a country where nearly 20 million people rely on farming, has suffered a 45 per cent fall in agricultural output this year as the drought has bitten, officials at the ministry of agriculture have said.
In a regular update, the U.N. humanitarian office reported that 120,000 people fleeing the drought arrived in Qala-e-Naw city in Badghis province in the week to Sept. 9.
It estimated 2.2 million Afghans would be affected by the drought this year.
In Qala-e-Naw, where there are an estimated 66,500 drought-displaced people, supplies and humanitarian aid are already insufficient to meet the needs of newly arrived families.
The U.N. cited an assessment by aid charity World Vision International that 99 percent of people in Badghis said their food situation was worse or a lot worse than a year ago.
“The assessment also indicates that most farmers lost last season’s harvest and nearly all of them lack seeds for new planting season,” the U.N. report said, noting reports that about 40 per cent of livestock has been lost in Badghis due to a lack of pasture and fodder.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), a U.S. funded food security monitoring service, said in a report on Aug. 31 that the number of Afghans in a food “crisis” was atypically high.
In Badghis and Faryab provinces, emergency outcomes are expected to emerge in January, FEWS NET said.

The bottled water brands say they want to see a future where all packaging is made entirely from recycled or renewable materials (or both); are designed to be fully reusable or recyclable; and all packaging is recovered or recycled.
Action required​ In the UK, around 72% of soft drinks are packaged in plastic.
Plastic bottles are frequently chosen by soft drinks brands, thanks to its lightweight properties and subsequent carbon savings in transport, and due to its effectiveness in preventing breakages and food waste.
And yet one of the very qualities that makes plastic so attractive as a beverage packaging material – its durability – also means it does not break down if it ends up as litter in the environment.
With the UN declaring a ‘plastics crisis’, there is more public and political awareness and concern surrounding plastic waste than ever before.
“The bottled water and soft drinks value chain does not yet have all the answers, but through collaborative action, needs to invest in finding them.
The capabilities of existing technologies should not limit ambition.” ​ Research and development will play a role in this transformation, and so investment is needed in this sector, it says.
​ “Some of the aspirations in the vision may challenge existing business and delivery models.
It also recognises that while government and business are already starting to address the issue, there is still a need to set ambitious goals to push the sector and create a transformational shift to eliminate plastic packaging waste.”​ The full report can be found here.​​ How we get there: a plan to eliminate plastic packaging waste from UK bottled water and soft drinks value chain Vision: An efficient and circular resource management system​ 2025 goals: ​ Recycling collection rate of bottled water and soft drinks packaging to increase at least 90% Incentivised minimum requirement of at least 70% recycled content for plastic bottled water and soft drinks packaging Consistent nationwide recycling collection system enabled by increased and improved infrastructure Vision: Find the best packaging format​ 2025 goals:​ All bottled water and soft drink packaging made from 100% recyclable or reusable material resulting in non-recyclable and hard-to-recycle plastics being phased out All bottled water and soft drinks packaging made from feedstock that consists of at least 70% recycled material, to achieve incentivised minimum Industry standard for optimal zero plastic waste, identify low-impact bottled water and soft drinks packaging Vision: Shift in consumer behaviour and societal norms​ 2025 goals:​ Clear, consistent labelling systems for consumers New programme of evidence-based behaviour change campaigns Vision: Explore alternative delivery models​ 2025 goals:​ Explore refillable packaging and reduce the follow of packaging material to consumers Source: University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).
Towards sustainable packaging: A plan to eliminate plastic packaging waste from UK bottled water and soft drinks.​ Cambridge, UK: the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Many families are subsisting on a single meal a day.
Many get by on just bread and water.
Herat has become the closest refuge for about 60,000 people, who have been displaced from their homes due to the drought.
We have spent all the money we had and have taken many loans from relatives.” Given such meagre resources, the unconditional cash grants from ECHO and NRC have become life lines for tens of thousands of the impoverished households.
We fled our homes because there was no water and it is the same here.
He lives in a makeshift shelter with his family after they were forced to leave their home in Badghis city/region/province.
But, despite the challenges, women like 57 year old Khanim Gul, who have been displaced several times, show remarkable resilience.
Gul was forced to leave her family behind in Badghis.
“This isn’t the first year we are suffering from drought.
While news of peace talks and bombings in Afghanistan make the headlines, the IDP communities suffering chronic, long term displacement feel “forgotten” by their government and the international community.

United Nations Millions of children are going to school without basic hygiene facilities, and the goal of universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene remains “a huge challenge,” the United Nations has warned.
A new joint UN agency study, Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools: 2018 Global Baseline Report, says that good hygiene facilities in schools provide the basis of a healthy learning environment, and that girls are more likely to attend when they are on their period.
Moreover, children who pick up good hygiene habits at school can reinforce positive life-long behaviours in their homes and communities, said the report.
However, millions of children are going to school without basic hygiene facilities: over 30 per cent of schools worldwide do not provide safe drinking water; a third of schools do not provide the most basic of toilet facilities (such as septic tank, pit latrines or composting toilets); and nearly 900 million children go to schools with no handwashing facilities with soap and water.
The annual report is produced by the World Health Organization/UN Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme, or JMP, which has been monitoring global progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene since 1990.
It looks at the progress made towards reaching the targets of two of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 6(Clean water and sanitation), and Goal 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all).
Commenting on the report, Kelly Ann Naylor, Global Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene at UNICEF, said that “If education is the key to helping children escape poverty, access to water and sanitation is key to helping children safely maximize their education.
To neglect this is to be careless with the well-being and health of children,” Universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene in schools is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but achieving this ambitious target presents a huge challenge.
The JMP has designed tools to make it easier to track progress across countries, towards a basic level of drinking water, sanitation and hygiene service.—APP

This vital resource is in increasingly short supply but an international forum is looking for solutions Water is a fundamental aspect of development, peace and security in the Arab region DUBAI: With only two percent of the Arab region covered by wetlands, and 94 percent of those vulnerable to climate change, water will play a crucial role in the future functioning of the region’s ecosystems.
“New solutions are needed to ensure access to water in areas facing conflict, and particularly for women, children and vulnerable groups.” For Monika Weber-Fahr, global water partnership executive secretary and speaker at the event, the Middle East is not unique when it comes to water management conflicts.
In addition, there are options for helping to solve water scarcity problems such as water harvesting and the reuse of wastewater.” Weber-Fahr said the situation is critical and one reason why, on Aug. 30 and 31, GWP is convening, with other organizations, a meeting of “Blue Peace in the Middle East” in Stockholm.
“This is because policy-makers decided to prioritize water to the industry and for municipal purposes (rather) than for agriculture — the percentage for agriculture is now much less compared to other regional countries, including the UAE, at about 52 percent.” In times of conflict, national priorities change.
“Conflict adds a lot to the severity of the water problem,” he added.
The world’s urban population increased to 54 percent of the world population in 2014, a figure that is expected to grow to 70 percent by 2050 and, according to Dr. Murad, could affect future development.
We also need to change our social behavior as it plays a major role — any conflict additionally affects people reaching water resources.” With annual rates of less than 250 millimeters of rainfall in the Middle East, ecosystems are fragile and under stress.
“Rapid population and urbanization growth are challenges as well as high per capita consumption patterns.” About 40 percent of the Arab population is already living in conditions of absolute water scarcity.
“The majority (84 percent) of water resources in the region are being used for agriculture while the municipal and the industrial sectors consume about 9 and 7 percent of the total water use respectively.
Being an important vector for socio-economic development, there is a need for efficient and sustainable water management to ensure that the water sector can continue to serve the region’s development needs.” With World Water Week bringing together scientists and practitioners to raise awareness about the latest knowledge and innovations in areas most affected by water scarcity, sustainable development will require water-smart societies.

The water level has receded in the Mosul Dam Lake, pictured here in May.
A new Turkish dam upstream on the Tigris River could make matters worse.
REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily Water scarcity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can either be a destabilizing factor or a motive that binds communities together, according to a new joint report from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank.
More than 60 percent of the region’s population is concentrated in places affected by high or very high surface water stress, compared to a global average of about 35 percent, it noted.
The report warned that if left unchecked, climate-related water scarcity is expected to cause economic losses estimated at 6 to 14 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2050, the highest in the world.
Speaking at the session, FAO Regional Programme Coordinator for the Near East and North Africa, Pasquale Steduto, explained that economic losses mean rising unemployment, compounded by the impact of water scarcity on traditional livelihoods such as agriculture, could result in food insecurity and force people to migrate.
Steduto, who is also co-lead author of the report, stated that the good news is that actions can be taken to prevent water scarcity and instability from becoming a vicious cycle, by focusing on sustainable, efficient and equitable water resources management and service delivery.
World Bank Senior Water Resources Management Specialist and report co-lead author, Anders Jagerskog asserted that water scarcity always has both a local dimension, as it directly impacts communities, and a regional one, as water resources cross borders.
“Addressing water scarcity is an opportunity to empower local communities to develop their own local consensus on strategies for addressing the challenge.
Regional partnerships to manage shared resources is a step toward greater regional integration.

It reveals that 2,025 of the world’s largest corporations, which collectively represent more than $20.3trn in market capital, are now reporting their water footprint through CDP, up from 1,200 just three years ago.
In a bid to tackle the issue, corporates are increasingly making moves to invest in water access solutions in their areas of operation.
3) Implementing water efficiency measures While energy efficiency plans are a key part of most corporate sustainability strategies, water has historically been something of a “forgotten” environmental footprint.
Since the water retail market opened to businesses last April, more than 100,000 organisations have reportedly switched water retailer in a bid to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Several of these organisations, including brewer Greene King, hospitality giant Whitbread and beverage firm Coca-Cola, are also reaping the environmental and financial benefits of obtaining a self-supply licence to deliver their own water and wastewater services.
5) Investing in initiatives that restore damaged river basins Some 544 companies told CDP that they were taking action to restore river basins in order to address water risks last year, up 124% from 2015 figures, with environmental protection proving to be the top sustainability concern for the majority of businesses to disclose their water footprint through the organisation.
CDP noted that the 7,300 water risks identified last year covered 149 river basins across 102 nations, with businesses increasingly working to go beyond water efficiency practices and lead collective action in river basins around the world.
Meanwhile, 48 corporations have committed to ensuring that all of their employees have access to the appropriate standards of WASH by signing the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) WASH at the workplace pledge.
The research additionally found that for every dollar a company invests in WASH, it can expect to generate $4.3 through increased employee productivity and decreased absenteeism.
This approach has also been adopted by Diageo, which assigns internal water costs to individual manufacturing plants as part of a wider goal to improve water efficiency by 50% by 2020.

But today, its overexploitation and pollution present challenges for the environment, economies and global living standards.
These issues are addressed by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the annual World Water Week, which runs from 26–31 August 2018 in Stockholm.
Organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute, the week-long forum promotes collaborative action to help solve the looming water crisis.
As a participant at the conference, the European Space Agency (ESA) is co-convening a session on the use of Big Data and Earth observation for the monitoring of SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation).
"World Water Week is the ideal occasion to share information about an increasingly scarce resource while we continue working with our satellite data users to develop sustainable water-use practices through innovative projects," says Benjamin Koetz, a scientist who develops new applications for ESA’s Earth Observation Programme directorate.
Responding to the pressing need for water information in African countries, ESA’s TIGER and Earth Observation for Sustainable Development (EO4SD) initiatives are supporting national and cross-border water authorities in using satellite data to manage water supplies.
GlobWetland is another example of ESA’s contribution to the SDGs.
This project includes the development of a Global Wetlands Observing System and the use of satellite-based information to measure the ecological state of wetlands in Africa.
These are just a few of the ESA projects that are helping to conserve water and fulfil the related SDGs.
By assisting water authorities, UN agencies, development banks and scientists to identify potential trouble spots, ESA helps to mitigate the effects of climate change while striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

London – Nearly half the world’s schools lack clean drinking water, toilets and handwashing facilities, putting millions of children at risk of disease, experts warned on Monday.
Almost 900 million children have to contend with a lack of basic hygiene facilities during their education, putting their health at risk and meaning some have to miss school.
"You can’t have a quality learning environment without these basics," said Dr Rick Johnston of the World Health Organisation, a lead researcher on the project.
"Children may not come to school at all if there’s no toilets … Then, when they are at school, they are not going to at their very best if they not able to use a decent toilet or if they are not properly hydrated."
It found nearly a third of primary and secondary schools lacked a safe and reliable drinking water supply, affecting nearly 570 million children.
Just over a third of schools lacked adequate toilet facilities, affecting more than 620 million children.
Sub-Saharan Africa, East and Southeast Asia had some of the worst facilities.
"It’s deeply shocking," Tim Wainwright, the chief executive of charity WaterAid, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
More than a third of girls in South Asia miss school during their periods, often because they lack access to toilets or pads, according to a WaterAid and UNICEF study earlier this year.
Thomson Reuters Foundation

A new joint UN agency study, Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools: 2018 Global Baseline Report, says that good hygiene facilities in schools provide the basis of a healthy learning environment, and that girls are more likely to attend when they are on their period.
Moreover, children who pick up good hygiene habits at school can reinforce positive life-long behaviours in their homes and communities, says the report.
However, millions of children are going to school without basic hygiene facilities: over 30 per cent of schools worldwide do not provide safe drinking water; a third of schools do not provide the most basic of toilet facilities (such as septic tank, pit latrines or composting toilets); and nearly 900 million children go to schools with no handwashing facilities with soap and water.
The annual report is produced by the World Health Organization/UN Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme, or JMP, which has been monitoring global progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene since 1990.
It looks at the progress made towards reaching the targets of two of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 6 (Clean water and sanitation), and Goal 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all).
Commenting on the report, Kelly Ann Naylor, Global Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene at UNICEF, said that “If education is the key to helping children escape poverty, access to water and sanitation is key to helping children safely maximize their education.
To neglect this is to be careless with the well-being and health of children," Universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene in schools is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but achieving this ambitious target presents a huge challenge.
The JMP has designed tools to make it easier to track progress across countries, towards a basic level of drinking water, sanitation and hygiene service.