Tunis: On the occasion of World Water Day on Friday, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) has published a note drawing attention to the seriousness of the situation in the country in this area due to the increasing difficulty of access to water, pointing out that social peace depends to a large extent on this commodity. The Forum points out that 397 protests demanding access to water were recorded in 2023 and that more than 650,000 people in Tunisia are still without water at home, many of them living in isolated rural areas. "12% of all educational institutions are completely without water, while 834 schools are served by water distribution companies which suffer from material and structural problems that lead to frequent interruptions in the water supply, according to the Forum. Some 128 primary schools do not have sanitary facilities, 74 of which are concentrated in the central-western governorates (Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid, Kairouan)". The lack of water has serious consequences for the health of the pupils, with the spread of viral hepatitis," the organisation notes. The FTDES also drew attention in its text to the exacerbation of climate change and the succession of years of drought, which have led to greater pressure on resources and the beginning of a new phase of water scarcity, especially as the population's share of water does not exceed 350 cubic metres per year per inhabitant. It pointed out that "water plays a vital role in ensuring food security" and that "the acute scarcity of this resource, coupled with the exacerbation of climate change and the frequency of extreme weather events, has adversely affected agricultural production and led to the loss of many foodstuffs used by Tunisians, warning against agricultural and economic policies that marginalise food security in general". Faced with this situation, the Forum called for water to be made available to all citizens on an equal basis and for this resource to be treated as part of an approach that respects human rights. In particular, it called for speeding up the revision of the draft Water Code, taking into account the proposals made by civil society in this area, and for the adoption of an effective policy for the mobilisation and storage of rainwater. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse