Unicef: Water shortages are particularly serious in South Asia This is how Germany’s richest woman invests her fortune

In South Asia, most of the world’s children suffer from water scarcity. In total there are 347 million, according to an analysis published on Monday by the UN children’s fund Unicef. More than a quarter of all children lived in the most densely populated region in the world. At the same time, only four percent of the world’s water is held there, the report said.

“Safe water is a basic human right, but millions of children in South Asia do not have enough to drink in a region plagued by floods, droughts and other extreme weather events increasingly caused by climate change,” said UNICEF, responsible for the regional Chief, Sanjay Wijesekera.

Ahead of the UN Climate Conference in Dubai at the end of this month, UNICEF is calling on the international community to take steps to ensure a livable planet for children. Water scarcity affects the well-being and growth of children, causing food insecurity, malnutrition and diseases such as diarrhea. Water shortages also affect agriculture, industry and economic growth. And when things go badly for farming families, children are more likely to be forced into child labor, it was said.

But there is also positive news: according to UNICEF forecasts, access to drinking water in South Asia is likely to continue to improve rapidly in the coming years. (sda/dpa)