At the meeting dedicated to the State Program on the improvement of water supply, wastewater, and rainwater systems in Baku city and the Absheron Peninsula, President Ilham Aliyev, in addition to the projects implemented in our country in this field, also expressed his attitude towards global issues. Especially against the backdrop of global climate change, water supply in the world is becoming a special challenge.
Although 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered with water, only 2.5 percent of it is drinking water. Only 0.3 percent of all water resources are easily accessible to people. According to UN estimates, currently 2.2 billion people face difficulties with uninterrupted water supply, and 703 million residents have serious problems accessing water. Every day, more than 1,000 children under the age of 5 die worldwide due to diseases related to lack of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. Due to increased water use in the food industry, global water demand is expected to increase by 40 percent by 2030. This indicates that in the coming years, global difficulties in meeting water demand will intensify.
Against the background of global challenges in water supply, 70 percent of the population in Azerbaijan is provided with uninterrupted drinking water. As the President of Azerbaijan also noted, one of the current problems is related to losses. The loss rate in our country is close to 45 percent.
At least water loss is recorded in developed countries in the world. For example, the lowest water loss is in the Netherlands: only 4 percent. This rate is 6 percent in Denmark, 7 percent in Japan, 8 percent in Australia and Germany, and 9 percent in Israel. The highest water losses are recorded in India, Algeria, and Mexico: 50 percent.
As seen, it is possible to significantly improve water supply in Azerbaijan by reducing the level of losses. As noted at the meeting, it is expected that the water loss rate will decrease as a result of implementing the state program. This will lead to a significant advancement in water supply.
Vuqar Bayramov,
economist, deputy
