Despite efforts by the government and development partners, women in some parts of the country still spend hours a day collecting water.
When faced with a survival situation, clean drinkable water is often the most important consideration.
People have survived without food for weeks or even months, but go without water for even just one day, and the survivor will be in desperate straights indeed.
Knowing that water is by far the most important nutrient for the human body (besides oxygen) and, in particular, during a survival situation when finding potable water may not be easy, the question becomes - just how long can the human body survive without adequate water?
To maintain a high level of health and efficiency even in ideal environments, a minimum of two quarts of clean water per day per person is the generally accepted rule of thumb.
In very hot or cold or very dry environments, or if you are physically active, two quarts of water a day may not be enough to sustain life over a period of days or weeks.
We do hope that the recently launched Gambia Country Water Partnership (GCWP) would help provide access to safe, clean drinking water to all in the country.
Since the demand for water is high, there is a need to ensure its availability at all times.
According to health experts, every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness.
Clean water boosts good health. When there is no water, there is needless suffering.
Drinking-water safety is a foundation for the prevention and control of waterborne diseases.
Despite the provision of pipe-borne water systems and hand pumps in many communities in the country, there are many other areas still using open wells for their daily water consumption.
We, therefore, hope more efforts will be made to provide such people also with clean drinking water supply, to prevent them from getting any water-borne diseases.
We are also urging the department of Water Resources and partners to actively support the maintenance of water taps in communities.
