The water trouble

Some 13.6 million rural people in Bangladesh do not have access to clean water, according to a new survey by WaterAid.

The figure is 13 percent of the country's total rural population, said the global advocacy group.

The survey report titled “Wild Water: The State of the World's Water 2017” was released on Tuesday.

It ranked Bangladesh ninth among the top 10 countries with the greatest numbers of rural people without clean water.

Among the South East Asian countries, India (63.4 million) topped the list while Afghanistan (12.4 million) was placed at the bottom.

The report shed light on how the struggle of vulnerable rural communities to access clean water was compounded by extreme weather events and climate change.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Prof Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) said there was a water disparity in the country.

“Less rural areas were under water supply coverage compared to urban areas. Besides, many rural areas were hit by arsenic and salinity problems.

“Safe water availability situation won't be satisfactory in the country until the disparity is reduced,” the Buet teacher added.

According to the report, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and Mozambique were among the 10 worst countries for rural access to clean water in terms of percentage of rural population.

Paraguay achieved the biggest improvement in bringing clean water to rural dwellers. More than 94% of its rural population now has access to safe water, compared with 51.6% in 2000.

The report said lack of government planning, competing demands, a rising population and water-draining agricultural practices were all placing increasing strain on water resources.

It blamed poor management and sustainability of services, social inequalities and poverty, population growth and climate variability for people's struggle to access clean water.

The WaterAid said making communities more water secure also helps them become more resilient to extreme weather and better able to adapt to climate change.

“Now, more than ever, governments must make access to water, sanitation and hygiene a political and financial priority, particularly for their poorest people,” said the advocacy group.

It also called for increasing public and private financing for water, sanitation and hygiene; recognising the importance of water, sanitation and hygiene in building resilience; making equitable allocation of climate finance and stepping up efforts by government leaders to meet their commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals.