Meeting Basic Human Needs

These problems amount to a tremendous emergency that we must find ways to help. Agriculture must feed another 2 to 3 billion people in the next 50 years, putting additional pressure on water resources. More than 70% of the world’s 850 million undernourished people live in rural areas, and most depend directly or indirectly on water for their livelihoods. Water scarcity resulting from physical, economic, or institutional constraints is already a problem for one-third of the world’s population. About 1.2 billion people live in areas plagued by physical water scarcity, meaning they lack enough water to satisfy demand, including enough water to sustain ecosystems and produce food for their communities. No person should go a day without their basic needs being met.