Topic: Access to Safe Drinking Water
Country: Somalia
Delegate Name: Rachel Kovan
School: Cranbrook Kingswood
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Somalia position papers GLIMUN 2009 committees
Clean water is used for many domestic purposes, some of which include cooking, drinking, and personal hygiene. More importantly, it is a necessity for survival. Over one billion people lack this safe drinking water. Each year, over 1.6 million people, mainly children, die from waterborne diseases. These waterborne diseases are due to polluted water and a lack of basic sanitation. Something must be done to stop this major cause of death.
There is very little access to clean water in the continent of Africa. Somalia is just one of the many African countries greatly affected by this problem. Due to poor hygiene and sanitation, many citizens are dying each year. The World Health Organization reported over 52,000 acute watery diarrhea (AWD) cases and 170 associated deaths throughout Somalia. Citizens are exposed to many possible outbreaks of cholera, and other contagious diseases. Also, clean water is needed to restore Somalia’s drought-affected land.
Somalia supports the United Nations program ‘Water For Life’ 2005-2015. This program deals with climate change, and its impact on drinking water and sanitation in Africa. Also, Somalia believes that the countries of the UN need to come together, and find a way to make clean water available to African countries, and all over the world. The country of Somalia asks those countries that are industrialized, and have an abundance of clean water, to support Somalia, and the other countries that do not have access to safe drinking water.
