AA/ Dakar / Alioune Ndiaye
The 9th World Water Forum, which opened on Monday at the Dakar Arena in Diamniadio, is a forum to raise the alarm on the situation of water resources in the world, said Senegalese President Macky Sall.
“This 9th forum gives us the opportunity to sound the alarm on the seriousness of the situation so that water-related issues remain at the heart of the international agenda. The health of billions of people at stake is at stake. around the world, it is also about the preservation of peace and international security,” said Macky Sall during the inaugural ceremony.
“Everything suggests that if nothing is done, the situation will go from bad to worse, due in particular to strong demographic pressure, rapid urbanization and industrial activities for man”, continued President Sall. , summoning a March 2021 UN water report to edify on the extent of the harm.
“Two out of five people in the world live in areas where water is scarce. Women and girls spend more than 200 million hours a day collecting water, 2 billion 100 million people are forced to consume polluted water and 80% of the water is discharged into nature without any treatment, jeopardizing the health of 4.5 billion people”, detailed the Head of State to this register.
He further noted that 90% of the most devastating natural disasters since 1990 are water-related.
Organized by the World Water Council, the 9th edition of the World Water Forum, the first to be held in sub-Saharan Africa, aims to be the forum for answers. It focuses on the theme ”Water security for peace and development”.
Heads of State Denis Sassou Nguesso from Congo, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani from Mauritania, Omar Cissoco Embalo from Guinea, Sahle Work Zewde from Ethiopia, took part in the ceremony. The Director General of the World Bank David Malpass, the Director of Unesco Audrey Azoulay and other personalities also attended the meeting.
“The magnitude of the challenges to be met gives meaning to the various themes of this edition relating, among other things, to the mechanism for financing water governance, innovation in sanitation, the problem of drinking water in rural environment, scientific research to maximize the use of water and the reuse of wastewater,” noted President Sall.
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