Water undoubtedly forms the basis of human survival. An
average human being can live several days without food but only a few without
water. We may look around us today and see a vast area of water coving the
earth but unfortunately, 97.5% of the totality of water is saline. What
percentage of fresh water do we have left for consumption? Almost negligible – 7billion people and growing! We
may not have heard the cry of the affected; this is not because they are
voiceless, but because we do not care to listen.
From Genesis, the amount of fresh water has remained almost
constant, recycled by convection, but the population has exploded ever since.
This means the competition for safe water to sustain life has intensified.
To some, water scarcity exists only in the papers, but to
many a virulent reality. While a large quantity of available water in the
developed world end up in the sinks, in most parts of the developing countries
hard to come by or in exchange for a reasonable price. For example, a five
minute shower in an American household will use more water than a person living
in a developing world slum will use in a whole day. Even though it seems like
an endless natural resource, we now know better.
According to a research conducted in 2006, one third of all
nations suffered from clean water scarcity but, sub-Saharan Africa had the
largest number of countries in a state of absolute scarcity with about 40% of
its total
