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SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

Understanding Goal 6

What do you understand for clean water and sanation?

a) Let's watch the following video in order to understand this goal better.

Participate. Understanding Goal 6 (CC BY-SA)

b) Answer  the following questions:

  • Has everybody the right to acces to clean running water and sanitation?
  • How many people are unnable to acces  to clean water and sanitation?
  • What precious resource is mentioned in the video?
  • What percentage of water covers the surface of our planet?
  • What humanitarian organization is mentioned?

c) Read the following article which belongs to the United Nations and it is not  adapted. Then,  skim it and  scan it.

You will skim the reading  to grasp the main idea and you will scan it to get the specific  information that calls your attention.

d) Complete:

i ) The main idea of the article is : ________________________________________________________________________________________

ii) Specific information that called my attention:

  • _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  • _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  • _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You can download a handout to write your answers in odt or pdf.

What have we done wrong?

It is clear that we have done something wrong because in 2023, there are still places without clean water and sanitation.

Water_polllution
Pxhere. water_pollution (CC0)

Read the following key facts about drinking water and sanitation in order to obtain relevant information and be able to debate about these topics  with your classmates.

Drinking Water

Read the following Key facts from WHO International News.

KEY FATCS

  • 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water.
  • Over 2 billion people live in water-stressed countries, which is expected to be exacerbated in some regions as result of climate change and population growth.
  • Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces. Microbial contamination of drinking-water as a result of contamination with faeces poses the greatest risk to drinking-water safety.
  • While the most important chemical risks in drinking water arise from arsenic, fluoride or nitrate, emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and microplastics generate public concern.
  • Safe and sufficient water facilitates the practice of hygiene, which is a key measure to prevent not only diarrhoeal diseases, but acute respiratory infections and numerous neglected tropical diseases.
  • Microbiologically contaminated drinking water can transmit diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio and is estimated to cause 485 000 diarrhoeal deaths each year.
  • In 2020, 74% of the global population (5.8 billion people) used a safely managed drinking-water service – that is, one located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination.

Sanitation

Read the following Key facts from WHO International News

KEY FACTS

  • In 2020, 54% of the global population (4.2 billion people) used a safely managed sanitation service.
  • Over 1.7 billion people still do not have basic sanitation services, such as private toilets or latrines.
  • Of these, 494 million still defecate in the open, for example in street gutters, behind bushes or into open bodies of water.
  • In 2020, 45% of the household wastewater generated globally was discharged without safe treatment.
  • At least 10% of the world’s population is thought to consume food irrigated by wastewater.
  • Poor sanitation is linked to transmission of diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera and dysentery, as well as typhoid, intestinal worm infections and polio. Poor exacerbates stunting and contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
  • Poor sanitation reduces human well-being, social and economic development due to impacts such as anxiety, risk of sexual assault, and lost opportunities for education and work

Little by little, we have  improved our habits to save water, especially at home. However, have we done something to improve the quality of the water and sanitation?

In groups, talk about what we have done wrong. Here you have a couple of questions to break the ice:

  • What have developed countries (or your country) done to guarantee clean water and sanitation? and developing countries?
  • Have developed countries had to help developing ones in order to achieve clean water and sanitation? If the answer is yes, explain how.

You will be able to do this task better if before you practice:

Are you a water saver or waster?

In order to know you are a water saver o waster, you can do the following quiz. Submit the answers in order to know if you are a water saver o a waster.

hand_water_person
Pxhere. hand_Water_person (CC BY-SA)

We do not appreciate water because we are so lucky that we can have it just turning on the taps. However, there are other countries which are no so lucky as you have already discovered in this project. They do not have the quantity we do. Moreover, the little they have is dirty and very dangerous for health consume.

TASK 1: Create a questionnaire

  • In groups, create your own questionnaire in order to know if your friends and family are aware of the sad situation related to water in developing countries using google forms. Once you have finished and your teacher has checked it, show the data obtained to your classmates.
  • Watch the video in order to learn how to use google forms

Don't forget that the  'rubric to assess a questionnaire' will help you know how to do a great job (download in editable odt format, download in pdf).

Learning Diary

Now, write in your learning diary your reflections.

Complete with information about you.

  • It was new to me ....
  •  I did not understand.... because...
  • It was very difficult to... because...
  • I understand easily... because...
  •  I can / can't apply this knowledge in my further studies.
  • I like this way of learning / I do not like this way of learning
  • Working in this way, I feel...

Creado con eXeLearning (Ventana nueva)