Goal 6.4: An efficient use of water resources (II)

The picture which goes with goal clearly reflects the sad reality which thousands of girls in Guatemala go through daily. They face the problem of water shortage and have to cover long overland treks to fetch barely a few litres of water, which totally insufficient to meet the needs of a (usually numerous) family household.

The photo was taken by the author on a work inspection visit to a FCAS-BID (Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo) project in the village of Los Achotes Jumay, municipio de Jalapa, Departamento de Jalapa (Guatemala). This village lies within the so-called “dry passage of Guatemala”, a drought-prone area with no food safety and therefore many cases of infant malnutrition in a context of a high level of extreme poverty.

It is in such natural and social situations that efficient use of resources should be maximised so that a population facing water shortages can be provided for. Especially if some of the rivers in the Department (already polluted) like the Motagua, which are used for extracting water for farming, with their backs turned to an improvement in quality through appropriate measures and treatment, were given the priority use of supplying populations which are frequently drought-stricken.