The Gaza Strip has enough water for sanitation and consumption according to the United Nations (U.N.) Children s Fund (UNICEF), which today released a report of children s access to clear water worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that countries need access to 100 liters of water per capita a day in order to maintain good health and hygiene. Non-governmental organizations operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories say Palestinians have access to between 50 to 70 liters of water per day. But UNICEF said today that Gazan citizens have enough water, despite ongoing concern about the quality and availability of water in the highly crowded strip of land. Having 50 to 70 is enough by WHO standards in terms of having enough for both hygiene and use for water consumption. So having 50 to 70 is certainly not bad, said Vanessa Tobin, a UNICEF official in response to a question asked by SPA. Tobin attributed the absence to a lack of information about the situation in Gaza. Data compiled by household surveys and other information gathering is incomplete, as no data from 1990 was gathered, she said. Eleven separate United Nations agencies have operated in Gaza since at least 1989. According to the incomplete data on Palestine released by UNICEF, the Territories are, on average, 73 percent on track toward achieving access to improved sanitation facilities by 2015, and 92 percent on track towards gaining access to improved drinking water.
