Global Water Crisis Facts
1. More than 9 billion people live in “potentially severely water-scarce areas,” according to the United Nations. That is more than 27 percent of all human beings alive right now.
Factoid: “Water scarcity” is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a designated region.
2. More than 1 billion people have no access to safely managed drinking water. Not “some access.” Not “limited access.” They have no access.
Factoid: Safely managed drinking water is water that:
3. More than 263 million people must travel more than 30 minutes each way to collect and carry their daily water needs.
Factoid: “Travel” usual means on foot.
Factoid: 30 minutes is the minimum time used for the standard calculation. Many travel several hours each way.
A Look at the Planet (The Supply)
We are all familiar with the phrase coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his “Rime of the Ancient Mariner:” “Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” That could describe the demand side of the global water crisis.
4. 5 percent of the surface water on the earth is the salt water contained in the oceans.
5. 7 percent of the remaining 3.5 percent of the total global water supply is fresh water that is locked away in glaciers, polar ice caps, and permanent snow.
6. Only 30.1 percent of the freshwater is usable, but not necessarily clean. This is the total surface water available for human use.
Factoid: Only slightly more than 1 percent of all the water on earth is available for personal human use.
Global Water Crisis Facts
UKRAINE — Samaritan’s Purse water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) teams are setting up reverse osmosis machines in key locations through Ukraine to provide clean drinking water for tens of thousands of people every day. Anatolii Nosach – Samaritan’s Purse: WASH team in Ukraine is one of the projects of Samaritan Purse responding to this war…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, reveals a troubling new report for World Water Day on March 22 — a growing shortage and scarcity of the planet’s most “precious” resource, water, could lead…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide, issued this special report on fresh water: an increasingly scarce resource more vital than oil or gold. Increasing demand…
CHARLESTON, SC — Every year, Charity Navigator evaluates more than 8,000 charities across the United States to help donors make informed decisions by assessing the financial health, accountability and transparency of these nonprofit organizations. Only 1 percent of charities assessed by Charity Navigator earn its coveted 4-star rating. Yet nonprofit Christian engineering organization Water Mission…
MANICHE, HAITI — Samaritan’s Purse set up a community water treatment unit to provide clean drinking water for people in Maniche, Haiti, after the town’s water supply was severed following a massive earthquake that also caused many area wells to collapse.. Its close proximity to the epicenter left it almost completely leveled—90 percent of homes…
BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI – Burundi is a landlocked African country about the size of the state of Maryland. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east, and the DRC to the west. Lake Tanganyika comprises much of its southern border. One of the poorest nations in the world, it has been called…
VIETNAM — Drought season in southern Vietnam continues to bring increased challenges to already vulnerable households. Impoverished families struggle to not only secure drinking water, but water that is needed for cooking, bathing, and washing clothes. Samaritan’s Purse recently provided large capacity water tanks to support about 160 households during the months of drought. A…
CHARLOTTE, NC — Christ’s Mandate for Missions, (www.cmm.world) formerly Correll Missionary Ministries, and CMM College of Theology (www.cmmtheology.org) are expanding globally as more people are hearing about their unique style of ‘team ministry’ empowering many to discover their God given identities we each have in Christ as we go higher and deeper in intimacy. During…
LOS ANGELES — Honoring excellence in video and television, The Telly Awards have announced this year’s winners with Cooke Media Group receiving four Silver Telly Awards. Winning entries were Episode 5 of the TBN documentary, “Inexplicable: How Christianity Spread to the Ends of the Earth” titled “Asia: The Great Wall and Beyond” and the video…
It has been about a month since the UN-sponsored 2021 World Water Day (March 22). Let’s review what you learned about the global water crisis. Our review consists of one question. Where is clean water needed the most? How would you answer? In the middle of the desert? In remote, rural regions? In the slums…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World is one of the world’s largest faith-based providers of clean water to the nations of South Asia. The workers at Gospel for Asia (GFA) witness the reality of the global clean water crisis every day. Just over two decades ago, a supporter of GFA urged the organization to initiate a…
LANGLEY, BC – Six men plan to mount their bicycles on the morning of June 27, 2021, in Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories of Canada. From that port outpost on the Arctic Ocean, the men will cycle southward, hoping to reach Prince Rupert, British Columbia, within two weeks. At Prince Rupert, they will touch the…
HUDSONVILLE, MI – The website of International Needs poses some interesting questions. What would happen if you had no access to safe drinking water? What if your children had no opportunity to attend school? We know that hundreds of millions of people around the world face these questions every day. But, the questions take on…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this Special Report update on the typically under-discussed looming global water crisis. Water problems are often big news, whether it’s ongoing crises in American locales…
BUFFALO, NY – The MissionGO website leaves little doubt as to one aspect of their ministry in the African country of Sierra Leone. 1,489,343 People living in Sierra Leone don’t have access to clean water. 100% Need Living Water As you have already perceived, providing clean water is one aspect of the MissionGO ministry. You…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide – Published a new report for World Water Day, says two-thirds of planet may face crisis shortages by 2025, 30 million in U.S. lack safe water….
BAHAMAS — Samaritan’s Purse is helping to repair the water distribution system in Sweetings Cay on Grand Bahama Island after it was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Phil Walsh, Samaritan’s Purse: The level of destruction here from Hurricane Dorian is really hard to believe at times. Entire houses wiped out completely. Communities really just…
RALEIGH, NC – If your family is like mine, hardly a day goes by without at least one email or snail mail soliciting donations to support charitable organizations whose work is to feed hungry families. Will it never end? Not the solicitations – the hunger. The earth has more than enough food to feed the…
WILLS POINT, TX — A leading mission agency today announced it has provided safe drinking water for a staggering 37.5 million people in South Asia, the world’s “thirstiest” continent. The number of people helped by Texas-based Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is roughly equivalent to the entire population of Canada. GFA World reported millions of…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued this Special Report update on the ongoing global water crisis, highlighting tap water safety problems in the USA, and clean water challenges in Asia. In my original special report for Gospel for Asia titled…
STAFFORD, TX – Living Water International was founded in 1990 to “demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water and experience ‘living water’ – the gospel of Jesus Christ.” In 2014, Living Water did what far too many faith-based organizations fail to do. They developed a world-class, 25-year vision and…
SUDAN – Samaritan’s Purse is working to prevent the spread of COVID 19 in South Sudan where millions live in very close quarters, providing food, water for hand-washing, and training for health professionals to help keep them safe from the virus.
Samaritan’s Purse is helping to create healthy homes in Kenya and in over 25 other countries by providing BioSand water filters for families who don’t have access to clean drinking water. Pastor Paul serves as a Samaritan’s Purse volunteer helping countless families gain access to clean water. Pastor Paul is a trained Healthy Home volunteer…
TERRELL, TX – The Bucket Ministry. That’s an unusual name. It is an unusual ministry. According to the group’s website, their mission is “sharing the Love of God through the gift of clean, safe drinking water.” The Bucket Ministry was created in 2012 following a trip by several Christians to the Amazon regions of Brazil….
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued a Special Report on solving the world water crisis, citing major initiatives to defeat an age-old problem of lack of access to clean water … so critical overall to combating disease and maintain healthy…
WILLS POINT, TX — A sobering new report released this week by Gospel for Asia (GFA World and its affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) in the wake of World Water Day reveals that two billion people globally are struggling to find enough water to survive. Approximately 40 percent of the world’s land surface is…
WILLS POINT, TX — Hundreds of millions of people around the world can’t take the most basic precaution against the coronavirus or other diseases — because they don’t have clean water or soap to wash their hands, mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) warned today. Marking World Water Day, Gospel for Asia (GFA) says millions…
NEW YORK – World Water Day is celebrated annually on March 22, but in 2020 events were limited by the global Coronavirus pandemic as communities practiced social distancing. In some places, it was unlawful to gather in groups to learn about clean water or to inaugurate new clean water facilities as is the custom. In…
VIENNA – The world water crisis is real. More than 2.3 billion people live in water-scarce areas. While the crisis may not affect you personally, about one-third of the world’s population contends with water scarcity daily. Water stress occurs when less than 1,500 cubic meters of water per year are available to residents of any…
Thirsty? Grab a glass and fill it with water from the tap in the kitchen. Or, you might want to draw it from your refrigerator door along with some ice, crushed or cubed. Or, you might reach inside the fridge and grab a bottle of purified water you purchased at the grocery store. Then sit…
VIRGINIA BEACH – Operation Blessing began in 1978 under the leadership of businessman, Bible teacher, philanthropist, and founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pat Robertson. Over the years, Operation Blessing has “touched the lives of millions of people in more than 90 countries” and every one of the United States. Operation Blessing exists to provide…
STOCKHOLM – Access to clean drinking water is an existential problem that must be overcome in developing countries. It is almost always a companion of poverty and disregard for women. Safe Water Network India (SWNI) has implemented a pilot project that borders on genius. If someone who solves a problem is a hero, those who…
CANBERRA – The global water crisis continues to spread almost indiscriminately from continent to continent and nation to nation. Australia heads into the Southern Hemisphere summer with populated portions already reeling from a “serious” to “severe” water crisis as a result of 32 months of drought. WaterNSW (New South Wales) has experienced extreme low inflows…
TASHKENT – The spotlight of the global water crisis is currently shining on the countries of Central Asia, particularly Uzbekistan. In “Water: A Time Bomb in Central Asia,” Aqua Doc emphasized that, “Agricultural water use in Central Asian countries is of vital importance, especially for Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. These countries employ inefficient irrigation methods….
NEW YORK – Clean water. America has it in abundance. And we have all the benefits that come along with immediate access to it. But do we understand what those benefits are and what the impact of living with them is? The issue goes far beyond thirst. UNICEF published the first volume of a new…
WILLS POINT, TX — As devastating water scarcity continues to ravage parts of South India, faith-based agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) and its Founder KP Yohannan report that “Jesus Wells” they help support are pumping lifesaving water for thousands of desperate families in the drought-stricken Chennai region. The wells, located in the communities on the…
STOCKHOLM – Experts from around the world will meet in Stockholm during World Water Week from August 25 to 30 to consider the growing concerns regarding water-related issues. Access to clean water, particularly drinking water, has been the basis for numerous Missions Box News stories over the past few years as part of our effort…
SOUTH ASIA — While the Chennai state is plagued by drought, other parts of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh are enduring the annual monsoon season. Many are fleeing their homes and villages for safer ground due to the flooding, as South Asia’s monsoon season is devastating schools, homes and churches, displacing hundreds of thousands of people,…
SOUTH ASIA – Sometimes, things just don’t make sense – until we dig a little deeper. For instance, this reporter has had difficulty reconciling two storylines about farmers that have been coming out of South Asia for the past year or more. Two storylines: Farmers and India’s water crisis The first involves a trend to…
7 WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) is honored to have been included in Beliefnet’s recently published list of nine Faith-Based Nonprofits Fighting the World Water Crisis. It doesn’t take long when ministering within developing nations to learn how personal the world water crisis is for people who have little or no access…
WILLS POINT, TX — Christian missions agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) today called for Christians to pray as South India remains in the grip of a critical water shortage that threatens hundreds of millions of lives. Critical water shortages have ‘reached point of no return’ as mega-city Chennai fights thirst. As many as 600 million…
CHARLESTON, SC – It was only a short while ago that Beliefnet released an article entitled, 10 Faith-Based Nonprofits Fighting the World Water Crisis. Both Gospel for Asia and Water Mission were honored to be included in that list. (Missions Box published a follow-up that focused on GFA’s tireless efforts to provide for the millions…
KATMANDU – As people in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu are facing a crisis of having no water, the people in Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Indian State of Bihar are begging for relief from raging floodwaters that have displaced ten of thousands. The death toll keeps rising as new reports filter in. The…
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – The water crisis that has struck nations in South Asia, Africa, and South America has now expanded into New South Wales (NSW), the most populous state of Australia. There is no indication at the moment that the two years of drought, below average rainfall that has plagued the eastern part of the…
WILLS POINT, TX – Various international organizations observed World Water Day on March 22, 2019. World Water Day should be a time for celebrating the life-sustaining gift of clean water. Unfortunately, the Earth at large is facing a world water crisis – water scarcity caused by increased demand and diminished supplies. India Spend published a…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the global water crisis. It amazes me when I ponder some of the things that we take for granted. Especially when they are things upon which our very lives depend. Things like water.I don’t think it would be hyperbole to say that the vast majority…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) released a brand-new video that tells the remarkable story of what the Lord has been able to do with a 24-year-old young man who had immigrated from India to the United States. In just three minutes, Dr. K.P. Yohannan shares the unexpected mission to which the Lord…
Gospel for Asia Spotlights Chronic Shortages of Clean Drinking Water & Plans to Drill Over 4,000 Wells During 40th Anniversary WILLS POINT, TX — Faith-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia announced plans to drill more than 4,000 of its unique “Jesus Wells” in the neediest communities in Asia this year, as World Water Day on…
RAJASTHAN – Organized by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) in India and the School of Water and Waste, over 100 national and international leaders are meeting in Rajasthan from April 2 through April 5 to study the Sustainable Water and Sanitation Program. It is the first meeting of its kind in India during…
Last year’s “Day Zero” scare, when Cape Town, South Africa’s taps nearly ran dry, captured the world’s attention and spurred conversations about the global scarcity of water. Now, even major cities like London are facing impending water shortages. For the first time, more people are beginning to consider what it might be like to live in a world…
