Water Scarcity Issues
Photo credit: Lynn Johnson, National Geographic
Women in search for water in Ethiopia
© The GlobalEd 2 Project
Essential Question:
1. What is water scarcity?
2. How does water scarcity impact the lives
of living things?
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Essential Understanding:
1. Water scarcity is either a shortage of
water or the lack of access to safe water.
2. Water scarcity has detrimental effects on
living things.
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Key Facts:
• For many people in the developing world,
water is a luxury!
• For more than 1 billion people, safe water
is scarce!
• As the demands for water increases, the
problem of water scarcity will continue to
grow!
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Effects of Water Scarcity:
• At any given time, 50% of the world's
hospital beds are occupied by patients
suffering from diseases, caused by
drinking or bathing in dirty water.
• In developing countries, such as Brazil,
Kenya, India and Haiti,~80% of illnesses
are linked to dirty water.
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Effects of Water Scarcity:
(continued)
• Worldwide, for children under 5 years
old,1 out of every 4 deaths is due to a
water-related disease.
Source: www.thewaterproject.org
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The Effect of Water Scarcity
on Children
• Over 1 billion young girls spend their day
fetching and carrying water, rather than
attending school
• Girls carry water in jugs weighing 20kg
(~40lbs) on their heads for long periods of
time, often developing spinal deformities
© The GlobalEd 2 Project
The Effect of Water Scarcity
on Children (continued)
• Children contact life-threatening diseases
such as cholera and diarrhea, by using
parasitic-infested water
• In developing countries, diarrhea is the
major cause of infant deaths
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