By JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS

The secretary-general of the International Islamic Relief Organization-Saudi Arabia (IIROSA) has called on all countries of the world to make strenuous efforts to increase the depleting water resources and to rationalize the use of the vital liquid to ensure its steady flow for future generations.

“The gap between the available sources and the increasing consumption of water is rapidly widening,” Adnan Khalil Basha warned. He referred to the world figures that said the consumption of water had increased six times during the past decades. According to the figures, one in five people in the world do not have easy access to clean water.

Basha made the statement on the occasion of World Water Day 2012, to be observed by the UN tomorrow.

“Easy access to water is a basic human right. Water is not only of vital importance to man, but also to animals, agriculture, health, sanitation, cooking and others,” he said.

The secretary-general warned of the grave consequences of the unavailability of clean water and said about 3.5 million people die annually because of unhygienic water, which causes a number of diseases including cholera, typhoid and dysentery.

Basha asked the Global Water Summit, to be held in Rome on April 30-May 1, to adopt stern and committing resolutions to increase the water resources and to make it available for all people, especially the poor and needy all over the world who do not have easy access to clean water. The secretary-general pointed out that despite its meager resources, IIROSA was able to provide clean water to millions of poor and needy people around the world. “IIRO was able to turn the arid land into green fields through the wells it had dug in various parts of the world, thus rescuing millions of people from the pangs of thirst and hunger,” he said.

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