What percentage of the earth is covered by water? 50% B 66% C 75%

75% of the earth’s surface is covered in water. CORRECT! 75% of the earth’s surface is covered in water.

What percentage of the earth’s water is fit for human use? 3% B 10% C 5%

Only 3% of the earth’s water is fit for human use. CORRECT! Only 3% of the earth’s water is fit for human use. About 97% of the water on earth is salt water. We can’t use most of the freshwater because it is out of our reach, locked into polar snow and ice.

How much of the human body is made of water? 10% B 50% C 70%

The human body is made up of nearly 70% water. CORRECT! The human body is made up of nearly 70% water.

How many glasses of water should you drink a day? 2 B 8 C 12

8 glasses is the recommended amount of water we should drink daily. CORRECT! 8 glasses is the recommended amount of water we should drink daily.

How long can a person survive without drinking anything? 1 day B 1 week C 1 month

CORRECT! 1 week. Although a person can live without food for more than a month, a person can only live without water for about one week.

About how many people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water? 200 million B 900 million C 700 million

CORRECT! 900 million. Around 900 million people do not have access to safe, clean drinking water. CAFOD is working with communities around the world to help change this.

In the UK the average amount of water that people use every day is 104 litres. What is the average daily water use in Ethiopia? A 5 litres B 41 litres C 595 litres

CORRECT! 5 litres. On average people in Ethiopia use about 5 litres of water a day. That’s less water than the average toilet flush at 9 litres. The recommended basic water requirement per person per day is 50 litres. That’s for drinking, cooking and keeping clean and healthy. In Kenya the average water use per day is 41 litres and in the USA water usage is 595 litres!

What are the advantages of having a safe source of water? A. Families are more healthy B. Babies do not have diarrhoea C. Food crops are watered

CORRECT! In fact, all of the answers are right. Clean water helps people to stay healthy. And when people are healthy they can work, go to school and look after their crops and animals! CAFOD is working to make sure everyone has access to clean drinking water.

Approximately, how many children die each year from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation? A 1 million B 1.2 million C 1.4 million

CORRECT! 1.4 million children This is a shocking figure. 1.4 million children around the world die each year because they do not have access to safe drinking water, or they have poor sanitation.* *Sanitation means things like toilets and sewage systems which ensure our waste is hygienically flushed away.

Now you know the facts about water TAKE ACTION! Tell somebody at home why access to clean water is so important to people living in poverty. Remind yourself how precious water is; turn off taps when brushing your teeth and have showers instead of baths. Support CAFOD to help families around the world have access to clean drinking water

Photos: Simon Rawles, Claire Kirk Illustrations: Per Jose Karlen Sources: www.cafod.org.uk, www.endwaterpoverty.org.uk, www.wateraid.org.uk, www.dfid.gov.uk; Info collated August 2011