World Water Day is a United Nations observance that highlights the importance of fresh water and the need to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
Pope Francis, in his encyclical, On Care for Our Common Home, states: “… access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights.” Yet, according to the UN, 3 in 10 people lack access to safe drinking water and 3 billion people have no access to basic sanitation services such as toilets or latrines. More than 800 of the world’s children die each day from waterborne illnesses that are directly linked to unsafe drinking water.
You can learn more about these issues and the UN Sustainable Development Goal on water here: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation.
Our sisters in Haiti are working to assist the people with access to clean water through Water With Blessings. Learn more and how you can help here: www.waterwithblessings.org.