Many populations around the world grapple with water security challenges and these threaten lives, livelihoods and political stability. To mark this year’s World Water Day (March 22, 2024) aid agencies are calling on governments and businesses to develop ways in which water can be a resource that not only gives life but also generates peace.
Water insecurity is, according to The International Water Management Institute, “the insufficient quantity or quality of water to support health, livelihoods, ecosystems, and production or an unacceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments, and economies”.
The researchers estimate of the approximately 3.7 billion adults in the 40 countries, 494 million experienced moderate-to-high-water insecurity, while 696 million experienced mild water insecurity in the previous year. Water insecurity can have important implications for health and health equity.
Such snapshots of global water insecurity is important not only because of the intrinsic value of water, gathering these metrics also reveals how climate change affects humanity.
One key event is where the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will host a World Water Day livestream featuring anthropologist and global health researcher Sera Young of Northwestern University and CSIS Global Food and Water Security Program experts.
At the event, Young will discuss the Water Insecurity Experiences Scale (WISE), an innovative tool designed to measure universal experiences with water insecurity, and inform development action and policy implementation.
The impact of making water insecurity more visible is achieved through use of the WISE scale. This method surveys individuals on 12 experiences with access, use and reliability of water.
According Young, through this approach: “People are seeing how the human voice adds real value to the standard physical measurements of water security. We now have examples of tangible real-world impact of these data.”
In the webinar, Young will share findings based on nationally representative data from a global poll of 40 low-, middle- and high-income countries on water insecurity. These results connect to the findings of the previous Gallup World Poll in 2021 which surveyed 31 countries.
In terms of examples, Young cites a predominantly aboriginal community located in Walgett, New South Wales, Australia. In this locale, community organizations have petitioned the government to address the high salinity of the local groundwater which was posing substantial health risks and exacerbating conditions like hypertension, renal problems and diabetes.
This precarious situation altered in 2022 after community-led surveys showed that 44 percent of the residents experienced moderate-to-high water insecurity, far higher than the national prevalence of 1 percent. The resulting policy brief, widely covered by the Australian press, led to a coordinated government response.
