💧GHANA MARKS 2023 WORLD WATER DAY.

March 22, 2023

Source: Samuel K. Owusu

Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark the 2023 World Water Day, a day set aside to create awareness of the importance of freshwater and advocate for its sustainable management. The event was marked with a call for action from citizens and stakeholders to protect Ghana's water bodies, which are under threat due to illegal mining activities (Galamsey)

As we mark World Water Day, let us reflect on our actions and how they impact our water bodies. We must all take responsibility and work towards protecting our water bodies by ensuring that we do not engage in activities that can lead to their destruction. We must also hold our leaders accountable for their actions towards protecting our water bodies.

World Water Day is celebrated annually on March 22 to raise awareness about the importance of freshwater and advocate for its sustainable management. This year's World Water Day theme, "Accelerating change" is a wake-up call to do even more to solve water and sanitation crises.

The theme also highlights the need to recognize the value of water in all aspects of our lives, from social and cultural to economic and environmental. Goal 6 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is focused on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

SDG 6 is aimed at ensuring universal access to safe and affordable drinking water and improving water quality by reducing pollution, increasing water-use efficiency, and protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems. The SDG 6 target seeks to achieve this by 2030.

Currently, over 2 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe and clean water, which is essential for basic human needs like drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene. Lack of access to safe water leads to waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, and diarrhoea, which are responsible for millions of deaths each year, especially among children under five.

Citizens from various regions across the country shared their experiences of water scarcity, and how it is a threat to human life. Illegal mining activities have destroyed our water bodies, making it difficult for people to access clean and safe water. The situation is further worsened by the practice of dumping refuse in streams, which is also a significant contributor to the pollution of our water bodies.

Nana Dwomoh Sarpong, the President of Friends and Water Bodies, on Peace FM Kokrokoo's morning Show this morning, made a passionate plea to the President of Ghana and the Assemblymen and women to put measures in place to stop the practice of dumping refuse in streams. He emphasized that if we continue to destroy our water bodies, we will not have a place to sit as a country. This is a call to action for all Ghanaians to come together and work towards protecting our water bodies for our present and future generations.

The importance of water to human life cannot be overemphasized. Water is essential for various activities such as agriculture, industry, and domestic use. A lack of clean and safe water can lead to water-borne diseases, which can be fatal. Therefore, it is imperative to protect our water bodies from pollution and other activities that can lead to their destruction.

Furthermore, inadequate access to water also affects women and girls disproportionately, as they are typically responsible for collecting water, which can be time-consuming and can prevent them from going to school or participating in economic activities. In many rural areas in developing countries, women and girls have to walk for hours every day to collect water from unsafe sources, which puts their health and safety at risk.

The need to ensure universal access to safe and clean water is critical to achieving SDG 6, as well as other SDGs related to health, education, gender equality, and poverty reduction. Achieving SDG 6 will require the involvement of all stakeholders, including governments, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

In conclusion, World Water Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of water and the need to protect and manage this essential resource sustainably. The SDG 6 target aims to ensure universal access to safe and affordable drinking water and adequate sanitation for all by 2030. Achieving this goal will require a concerted effort by all stakeholders, and it is essential to leave no one behind in this effort

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