By Ochuko Akuopha

OLEH—ABOUT 2.2 million people die annually owing to basic water and hygiene related diseases, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Initiative for Community Development, ICD, Mr. Benjamin Ogbalor, has said.

Speaking at Oleh, Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State during 2019 World Water Day celebration held by ICD and funded by the European Union and the Federal Government, Ogbalor noted that “Globally, 2.1 billion people live without safe water.

“It is estimated that about 700 million people could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030. Indeed, more than 700 children under the age of five die every day from diarrhea linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.

“These statistics do not refer to some distant climes only but also affect those of us here today.”

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He said that the World Water Day was an annual event set aside by United Nations and celebrated across the globe by Countries,  he said this year’s theme  ‘Leaving No One Behind’  “is an adaptation of the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; as sustainable development progresses, everyone must have access to water by 2030.

Similarly, Chairman of Isoko South Local Government council, Sir. Itiako Ikpokpo, Senator Stella Omu, Prof. Anthony Akpoborie and others who also spoke at the ceremony, noted that access to portable, sustainable and affordable water remained the most essential need of the global society and noted that clean water was the live wire of human existence.