By Mayara Matos and Thauan Santos |
Data show that more than 3 billion people suffer from water shortages around the globe. The report indicates that the availability of the resource for each person has reduced by a fifth over two decades. Amongst the affected ones, nearly half of the population is compromised by a severe scarcity of water and even catastrophic droughts due to climatic changes. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported that the amount of people impacted only in Sub-Saharan Africa was around 50 million individuals in 2020.
Impacts on Defense and Security: Water availabiltiy is a key factor to assure the safety of human activities, such as agriculture. The change of rainfall pattern as well as the shortage of water for irrigation threatens food production, and therefore food safety.
Source: HARVEY, Fiona. More than 3 billion people affected by water shortages, data shows. The Guardian, 11/06/2020. Available at: https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/26/more-than-3-billion-people-affected-by-water-shortages-data-shows