UNICEF / CHILDREN WATER CRISES
19-Mar-2023
00:02:13
190 million children in 10 African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats – inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); related diseases; and climate hazards – according to a new UNICEF analysis. UNICEF
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STORY: UNICEF / CHILDREN WATER CRISES
TRT: 02:13
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE CHECK SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
TRT: 02:13
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE CHECK SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
SHOTLIST
29 SEPTEMBER 2021, MADAGASCAR
1. Wide shot, Madagascar, drone of lone tree in arid climate.
2. Wide shot,Madagascar, drone of people riding with cows amongst arid climate.
AUGUST 2022, MADAGASCAR
3. Close up, arid land, cracked.
FEBRUARY 2022, MADAGASCAR
4. Wide shot, Madagascar, drone of flooded village with boat pushing down street.
5. Wide shot; Buzi, Mozambique, drone of flooded home.
6. Med shot, Mozambique, young boy in flooded home.
MARCH 2021, BURUNDI
7. Med shot, Burundi, young boy walking flooded streets with tire in hand.
MAY 2022, KENYA
8. Close up, Kenya, hand twirling water with stick.
9. Close up, Kenya, from above: hand twirling dirty water with stick.
10. Close up, Kenya, from above: water settling, dirt separating.
11. Close up, Kenya, pouring water through sifter.
12. Close up, Kenya, from above: leftover dirt.
13. Med shot, Kenya, young girl drinks water.
SEPTEMBER 2022, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
14. Med shot, DRC, mother walking with child on back, holding water jug.
15. Wide shot, DRC, mother wading through dirty water.
16. Med shot, DRC, mother filling jug with dirty water.
17. Wide shot, DRC, mother walking with jug on head.
18. Close up, DRC, mother walking with jug on head.
19. Close up, DRC, trash on shore of Lake Kivu.
20. Close up, DRC, following two boys walking among trash on the shore of Lake Kivu.
SEPTEMBER 2021, MADAGASCAR
21. Wide shot, Madagascar, looking down well, water jug being pulled up.
22. Wide shot, Madagascar, water jug being pulled up amidst group of youth.
MAY 2022, KENYA
23. Wide shot, Kenya, farmer with goats walking through windy, arid landscape.
24. Med shot, Kenya, young boys amidst arid landscape.
25. Med shot, Kenya, young girl amidst empty water jugs.
26. Wide shot, Kenya, young girls drawing from lake, along with goats and donkeys.
27. Med shot, Kenya, young girls pulling and rolling up water jugs from lake.
28. Med shot, Kenya, looking down into hole, man draws water from shallow puddle.
29. Wide shot, Kenya, woman from hole hands water to another woman we’re level with.
30. Close up, Kenya, woman pours water into jug.
31. Med shot, Kenya, water pump pushes out massive amounts of water as (tilt up) woman tried to fill jug.
32. Wide shot, Kenya, young boy walks with water jug, alone, amidst arid landscape.
33. Wide shot, Kenya, young boy now rolls water jug with foot amidst arid landscape.
34. Wide shot, Daley village, Kenya, borehole with customers old and young.
35. Med shot, Daley village, Kenya, water filling into jug with young boy in background.
36. Close up, Daley village, Kenya, water filling into jug.
37. Close up, Daley village, Kenya, water filling into jug, from above.
38. Wide shot, Daley village, Kenya, young girls pull water jugs.
39. Close up, Daley village, Kenya, water jugs are rolling.
SEPTEMBER 2022, VIETNAM
40. Med shot, Vietnam, girls washing hands in sync as they sing song.
41. Med shot, Vietnam, young girl rinsing hands under water.
42. Close up, Vietnam, young girl rinsing hands under water.
43. Wide shot, Vietnam, young girl, alone, washes hands. UNICEF logo on wall.
44. Wide shot, Vietnam, UNICEF worker and young girl at water tank, filling water. Sun shining through trees.
45. Wide shot, Vietnam, young girl with bucket walks from house.
46. Wide shot, Vietnam, young girl with baby washes hands under water, mountain landscape in background.
47. Med shot, Vietnam, young girl opens water spicket and water (tilt down) dumps into bucket.
48. Close up, Vietnam, turning off water spicket.
DECEMBER 2022, ETHIOPIA
49. Wide shot, Ethiopia, slow motion, young girl fills up water jug.
50. Close up, Ethiopia, slow motion, young boy splashes water on face.
51. Close up, Ethiopia, slow motion, young girl splashes water on face.
1. Wide shot, Madagascar, drone of lone tree in arid climate.
2. Wide shot,Madagascar, drone of people riding with cows amongst arid climate.
AUGUST 2022, MADAGASCAR
3. Close up, arid land, cracked.
FEBRUARY 2022, MADAGASCAR
4. Wide shot, Madagascar, drone of flooded village with boat pushing down street.
5. Wide shot; Buzi, Mozambique, drone of flooded home.
6. Med shot, Mozambique, young boy in flooded home.
MARCH 2021, BURUNDI
7. Med shot, Burundi, young boy walking flooded streets with tire in hand.
MAY 2022, KENYA
8. Close up, Kenya, hand twirling water with stick.
9. Close up, Kenya, from above: hand twirling dirty water with stick.
10. Close up, Kenya, from above: water settling, dirt separating.
11. Close up, Kenya, pouring water through sifter.
12. Close up, Kenya, from above: leftover dirt.
13. Med shot, Kenya, young girl drinks water.
SEPTEMBER 2022, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
14. Med shot, DRC, mother walking with child on back, holding water jug.
15. Wide shot, DRC, mother wading through dirty water.
16. Med shot, DRC, mother filling jug with dirty water.
17. Wide shot, DRC, mother walking with jug on head.
18. Close up, DRC, mother walking with jug on head.
19. Close up, DRC, trash on shore of Lake Kivu.
20. Close up, DRC, following two boys walking among trash on the shore of Lake Kivu.
SEPTEMBER 2021, MADAGASCAR
21. Wide shot, Madagascar, looking down well, water jug being pulled up.
22. Wide shot, Madagascar, water jug being pulled up amidst group of youth.
MAY 2022, KENYA
23. Wide shot, Kenya, farmer with goats walking through windy, arid landscape.
24. Med shot, Kenya, young boys amidst arid landscape.
25. Med shot, Kenya, young girl amidst empty water jugs.
26. Wide shot, Kenya, young girls drawing from lake, along with goats and donkeys.
27. Med shot, Kenya, young girls pulling and rolling up water jugs from lake.
28. Med shot, Kenya, looking down into hole, man draws water from shallow puddle.
29. Wide shot, Kenya, woman from hole hands water to another woman we’re level with.
30. Close up, Kenya, woman pours water into jug.
31. Med shot, Kenya, water pump pushes out massive amounts of water as (tilt up) woman tried to fill jug.
32. Wide shot, Kenya, young boy walks with water jug, alone, amidst arid landscape.
33. Wide shot, Kenya, young boy now rolls water jug with foot amidst arid landscape.
34. Wide shot, Daley village, Kenya, borehole with customers old and young.
35. Med shot, Daley village, Kenya, water filling into jug with young boy in background.
36. Close up, Daley village, Kenya, water filling into jug.
37. Close up, Daley village, Kenya, water filling into jug, from above.
38. Wide shot, Daley village, Kenya, young girls pull water jugs.
39. Close up, Daley village, Kenya, water jugs are rolling.
SEPTEMBER 2022, VIETNAM
40. Med shot, Vietnam, girls washing hands in sync as they sing song.
41. Med shot, Vietnam, young girl rinsing hands under water.
42. Close up, Vietnam, young girl rinsing hands under water.
43. Wide shot, Vietnam, young girl, alone, washes hands. UNICEF logo on wall.
44. Wide shot, Vietnam, UNICEF worker and young girl at water tank, filling water. Sun shining through trees.
45. Wide shot, Vietnam, young girl with bucket walks from house.
46. Wide shot, Vietnam, young girl with baby washes hands under water, mountain landscape in background.
47. Med shot, Vietnam, young girl opens water spicket and water (tilt down) dumps into bucket.
48. Close up, Vietnam, turning off water spicket.
DECEMBER 2022, ETHIOPIA
49. Wide shot, Ethiopia, slow motion, young girl fills up water jug.
50. Close up, Ethiopia, slow motion, young boy splashes water on face.
51. Close up, Ethiopia, slow motion, young girl splashes water on face.
STORYLINE
190 million children in 10 African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats – inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); related diseases; and climate hazards – according to a new UNICEF analysis.
The triple threat was found to be most acute in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia, making West and Central Africa one of the world's most water-insecure and climate-impacted regions, according to the analysis. Many of the worst-affected countries, particularly in the Sahel, are also facing instability and armed conflict, further aggravating children’s access to clean water and sanitation.
"Africa is facing a water catastrophe. While climate and water-related shocks are escalating globally, nowhere else in the world do the risks compound as severely for children,” said UNICEF Director of Programmes Sanjay Wijesekera. “Devastating storms, floods, and historic droughts are already destroying facilities and homes, contaminating water resources, creating hunger crises, and spreading disease. But as challenging as the current conditions are, without urgent action, the future could be much more bleak."
The global analysis – which reviewed household access to WASH services, the burden of WASH-attributable deaths among children under five, and exposure to climate and environmental hazards – reveals where children face the biggest threat and where investment in solutions is desperately needed to prevent unnecessary deaths.
Across the 10 hotspots, nearly one-third of children do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-thirds do not have basic sanitation services. A quarter of children have no choice but to practise open defecation. Hand hygiene is also limited, with three-quarters of children unable to wash their hands because of lack of water and soap at home.
As a result, these countries also carry the heaviest burden of child deaths from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, such as diarrhoeal diseases. For example, 6 of the 10 have faced cholera outbreaks over the past year. Globally, more than 1,000 children under five die every day from WASH-related diseases, with around 2 out of 5 concentrated in these 10 countries alone.
These hotspots also rank within the top 25 per cent of 163 countries globally with the highest risk of exposure to climate and environmental threats. Higher temperatures – which accelerate pathogen replication – are increasing 1.5 times faster than the global average in parts of West and Central Africa. Groundwater levels are also dropping, requiring some communities to dig wells twice as deep as just a decade ago. At the same time, rainfall has become more erratic and intense, leading to floods that contaminate scarce water supplies.
All 10 hotspot countries are also classified by OECD as fragile or extremely fragile, with the stresses of armed conflict in some countries threatening to reverse progress toward safe water and sanitation. For example, Burkina Faso has seen a ramping up of attacks on water facilities as a tactic to displace communities. Fifty-eight water points were attacked in 2022, up from 21 in 2021, and three in 2020. As a result, more than 830,000 people – over half of whom are children – lost access to safe drinking water in the last year.
The new analysis comes ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference taking place in New York from 22-24 March. World leaders, relevant organizations and other participants will convene for the first time in 46 years to review progress toward ensuring access to water and sanitation for all. At the conference, UNICEF is calling for:
• Rapid scale-up of investment in the sector, including from global climate financing.
• Strengthening climate resilience in the WASH sector and communities.
• Prioritizing the most vulnerable communities in WASH programmes and policies.
• Increasing effective and accountable systems, coordination and capacities to provide water and sanitation services.
• Implementing the UN-Water SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework and investing in the key accelerators.
"The loss of a child's life is shattering for families. But the pain is intensified when it is preventable and caused by the lack of basic necessities many take for granted like safe drinking water, toilets, and soap,” said Wijesekera. “Investing in climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene services is not only a matter of protecting children's health today, but also ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come."
The triple threat was found to be most acute in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia, making West and Central Africa one of the world's most water-insecure and climate-impacted regions, according to the analysis. Many of the worst-affected countries, particularly in the Sahel, are also facing instability and armed conflict, further aggravating children’s access to clean water and sanitation.
"Africa is facing a water catastrophe. While climate and water-related shocks are escalating globally, nowhere else in the world do the risks compound as severely for children,” said UNICEF Director of Programmes Sanjay Wijesekera. “Devastating storms, floods, and historic droughts are already destroying facilities and homes, contaminating water resources, creating hunger crises, and spreading disease. But as challenging as the current conditions are, without urgent action, the future could be much more bleak."
The global analysis – which reviewed household access to WASH services, the burden of WASH-attributable deaths among children under five, and exposure to climate and environmental hazards – reveals where children face the biggest threat and where investment in solutions is desperately needed to prevent unnecessary deaths.
Across the 10 hotspots, nearly one-third of children do not have access to at least basic water at home, and two-thirds do not have basic sanitation services. A quarter of children have no choice but to practise open defecation. Hand hygiene is also limited, with three-quarters of children unable to wash their hands because of lack of water and soap at home.
As a result, these countries also carry the heaviest burden of child deaths from diseases caused by inadequate WASH, such as diarrhoeal diseases. For example, 6 of the 10 have faced cholera outbreaks over the past year. Globally, more than 1,000 children under five die every day from WASH-related diseases, with around 2 out of 5 concentrated in these 10 countries alone.
These hotspots also rank within the top 25 per cent of 163 countries globally with the highest risk of exposure to climate and environmental threats. Higher temperatures – which accelerate pathogen replication – are increasing 1.5 times faster than the global average in parts of West and Central Africa. Groundwater levels are also dropping, requiring some communities to dig wells twice as deep as just a decade ago. At the same time, rainfall has become more erratic and intense, leading to floods that contaminate scarce water supplies.
All 10 hotspot countries are also classified by OECD as fragile or extremely fragile, with the stresses of armed conflict in some countries threatening to reverse progress toward safe water and sanitation. For example, Burkina Faso has seen a ramping up of attacks on water facilities as a tactic to displace communities. Fifty-eight water points were attacked in 2022, up from 21 in 2021, and three in 2020. As a result, more than 830,000 people – over half of whom are children – lost access to safe drinking water in the last year.
The new analysis comes ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference taking place in New York from 22-24 March. World leaders, relevant organizations and other participants will convene for the first time in 46 years to review progress toward ensuring access to water and sanitation for all. At the conference, UNICEF is calling for:
• Rapid scale-up of investment in the sector, including from global climate financing.
• Strengthening climate resilience in the WASH sector and communities.
• Prioritizing the most vulnerable communities in WASH programmes and policies.
• Increasing effective and accountable systems, coordination and capacities to provide water and sanitation services.
• Implementing the UN-Water SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework and investing in the key accelerators.
"The loss of a child's life is shattering for families. But the pain is intensified when it is preventable and caused by the lack of basic necessities many take for granted like safe drinking water, toilets, and soap,” said Wijesekera. “Investing in climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene services is not only a matter of protecting children's health today, but also ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come."
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