How access to clean water differs for families across the world

by Matt Petronzio

The global water crisis has greatly improved over the past 15 years, but it’s far from over.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations’ blueprint for tackling the world’s most pressing issues, expire this year, allowing us to look at how far we’ve come as well as what we can do better with the next set of global targets — the Sustainable Development Goals.

Goal 7 of the MDGs focused in part on water scarcity, with a target of halving the number of people around the world without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation services. Today, 91% of the world’s population uses an improved drinking water source, compared to 76% in 1990, but water scarcity still affects more than 40% of people, across every continent.

And that number’s projected to increase. That means the world’s most marginalized and impoverished families continue to live without the basic human right of water, affecting their health, safety and survival.

This summer, UNICEF assigned photographer Ashley Gilbertson to document the various ways families around the world access and use water, and their relationships to the precious resource.

In his resulting portrait series, #WaterIs: A family affair, Gilbertson takes us into the homes of families in seven countries, where they pose next to visual representations of how much water they use every day. Whether they’re in a poor urban district in Bolivia, a refugee camp in northern Jordan or the photographer’s own home in downtown Manhattan, these families all have at least one thing in common: Water is central to their daily lives.

As this week marks World Water Week, the annual meeting in Stockholm that focuses on global water issues, these portraits — and the stories behind them — remind us of the work that still needs to be done.

Bolivia

Home to more than 10 million people, Bolivia’s economic growth and the government’s investments in basic social services have led to an increase in access to safe water and better sanitation.

In 1990, 91% of urban populations in Bolivia had access to improved drinking water source; today, 97% of the country’s urban dwellers have access to improved water sources.

But rural areas — many of which have sparse populations living in abject poverty — still face challenges. In 1990, 40% of the country’s rural populations had access to better drinking water. Still, in 2015, only 76% have access to improved water sources.

The Estebans — 12-year old Marisol, eight-year-old Josue, and their parents Ronaldo and Augistina — live in District 7, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city of El Alto, Bolivia, with limited access to water.

They use 100 liters per day: 16 liters for cooking and drinking, 6 liters to wash dishes, 30 liters to wash their clothes, and 48 liters to shower and wash their hands and faces.

“The most important thing in my life and my home is water,” Augistina told UNICEF. “Without it we don’t have life.”

Niger

Niger is the largest country in West Africa, with a population of more than 18 million. But only 58% of Nigeriens have access to improved drinking water sources due to the country’s desert climates, droughts and political instability.

In 1990, 61% of urban populations and 29% of rural populations had access to better drinking water. Today, an impressive 100% of urban populations in Niger have access, while only 49% of rural populations have access.

The Mahamadou family — seven-year-old Aliou, five-year-old Kadidja, 16-month-old Zeinabou, and their parents Mariama Abdou and Mahamadou Moussa — uses a stone to filter their water, separating clear water from mud. It’s a common practice in their village near the Niger River.

The family uses 60 liters of water per day for drinking and cooking.

Because of their proximity to the river, they have plenty of access to water, but it often carries diseases such as cholera, which Mariama contracted two years ago. After treatment, she luckily survived.

“I feel really blessed to be close to the water because I waste less time than other people,” Mariama told UNICEF. “When I get to the river, it’s a good opportunity to talk to other women. We discuss marriage, baptisms and the community.”

Jordan

India

India has made moderate progress in sustainable water access since 1990. Then, 89% of urban populations and 64% of rural populations had access to improved drinking water sources. Now, those numbers have risen to 97% and 93%, respectively.

But India still has one of the most challenging water crises in the world, with groundwater becoming alarmingly scarce. Everyone from farmers to city dwellers to large corporations are draining the country’s wells and aquifers, while the remaining water is highly polluted.

Meanwhile, only 36% of Indians across the country have access to improved sanitation facilities — only 25% in rural areas.

The Gayali family — 83-year-old Nabin Chandra, his wife Bhuljhara, 16-year-old daughter Bishaksha, daughter-in-law Swarga, sons Monodish and Krishna, and daughter Beauty — live in the Indian village of Shakdah, Nadia District, West Bengal State.

They use 220 liters of water per day: 30 liters for cooking, 60 liters for bathing, 20 liters for cleaning the house, 70 liters for laundry and washing the dishes, and 40 liters for the family’s cow, Kangali.

The Gayalis obtain all of their water from a hand pump that was installed deep into the ground three years ago. That water is extremely high in iron, however, giving it a pungent odor and turning it murky when exposed to oxygen.

“Our water is not so good,” Nabin Chandra told UNICEF. “It has a lot of iron in it. You can see the deposits in the water after it’s come out of the pump, and it causes us digestion and stomach problems.”

Before the hand pump, Swarga would need to walk more than 200 meters (more than 650 feet) to the neighbor’s house 40 times each day in order to get water for the family.

“I felt like I was walking back and forth all day, just to get water,” she said.

Myanmar

Like much of Southeast Asia, Myanmar’s wet season runs from the end of May through early October and the dry season runs from October to May — but water scarcity is a year-long problem.

While the dry season — especially the hot months beginning in late February — means chronic water shortages, the flooding caused by annual monsoons during the wet season swiftly contaminates the country’s groundwater wells used for drinking water.

Today, 93% of Myanmar’s urban populations and 74% of rural populations have access to improved drinking water sources, up from 80% and 51%, respectively.

The Kyaw family — Kyaw Soe, his wife Nyo Oo, 12-year-old Ei Mon and seven-year-old Ei Zin — owns a general store in Hnen Ser Kyin, Magway Region, Myanmar.

They use 100 liters of water per day from the area’s borehole: 20 liters for drinking, 20 liters for cooking, and 60 liters for washing dishes and using the toilet. In the rainy season, they can draw an additional 200 liters for bathing from the local well or ponds, which saves them the equivalent to $0.40 USD per day. However, this surface water is often contaminated, and has made the family sick in the past.

“In the dry season, we have to wake up very early and get to the well before it gets crowded,” Kyaw Soe told UNICEF. “There are two villages that rely on that well, and so, because of huge demand, the water table was dropping, so sometimes we have to give it time.”

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