Did you know that…
- The lack of water systems is one of the major obstacles to eradicate poverty in Mozambique. The access to drinkable water is still well below the needs of the Mozambican population. The most affected are the ones living in rural areas.
- In Mozambique only 30% of the population has access to drinkable water, against 72% in the urban areas, according to data from the National Directorate of Water.
- The population walk for long distances to look for water sources. Walks of 20 kilometres a day are not a rare case.
- A study performed by the WHO / UNICEF (2008) observed that when people are forced to walk for more than 30 minutes, for a single collection and transport of water, they compromise their daily consumption of water, carrying less water than the necessary to satisfy the family’s basic needs (drinkable water, food preparation and hygiene). When drinkable water is not directly available, women are more prone than men to take over the chore of collection and transport drinkable water from a remote location.
- The unsafe water consumption and the low levels of sanitation increase the transmission of diarrhoea (including cholera), trachoma and hepatitis.
- Less than a third of the families in the rural centre and rural North have access to safe water sources, and the rural areas seem to fall more and more behind in relation to the rest of the country.
Every Little Gesture counts! And yours can make a difference. With you again, this April, there is plenty of clean water in Mozambique!
APRIL, THE MONTH OF THE WATER AT ALG Donate Now! http://tinyurl.com/ALGwater