AFRY + Gapminder: Clean Water and Sanitation
World Water Day 2021
On 22 March every year, people and organizations participate in World Water Day by taking action to tackle the water crisis. This year World Water Day will focus on the theme Valuing Water.
World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. Valuing water can be examined from different perspectives, such as valuing water sources, infrastructure, services, both valuing water as an input to production and socio-economic activity and also valuing socio-cultural aspects of water.
Do you know how many people have access to safe drinking water? Around 30%, 50% or 70%?
When we recently polled the general public, 8 out of 10 people got this wrong. Most people overestimate the number of people that lack access to safe water. It’s probably because they don't want to trivialise the suffering of all the thirsty people in the world.
We developed the UN Sustainable Development Goals Test with Gapminder to increase general knowledge about social, economic and environmental sustainability.
What does clean water mean to you?
Robert Jönsson is an expert within water management. We interviewed him in order to get his perspective on the theme of Valuing Water:
“Today, about a thousand children die every day due to illness caused by drinking insanitary water - that is water contaminated by sewage. I cannot be happy with that. It should be every politician’s priority globally to safeguard everyone’s right to clean and safe drinking water, an adequate waste and sewage system, and a toilet in their home.”
