G8 Meeting Urged to Highlight Water Issue in Africa

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, June 03, 2003

G8 Meeting Urged to Highlight Water Issue in Africa

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Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has expressed hope that the meeting of the G8 industrialized countries will pay particular attention to the water issue around the world, local media reported on Monday.

Chissano wishes the meeting to take decisions to help the world,particularly Africa, face the problem.

Speaking during a ceremony to celebrate International Children's Day on Sunday in the central Mozambican city of Beira, Chissano said the theme of the celebrations, "A Healthy Environment for Every Child," coincides well with that of the Environment Week.

The theme of the Environment Week is "Water, Two Billion Dying for It" meaning that there are two billion people across the worldwho have no access to clean drinking water.

"The problem is not only that water is scarce, it is more than that--there is also a shortage of water for food production for lack of adequate management and control of rivers and rain water,"Chissano said.

Chissano described the situation in Mozambique as paradoxical, because the country often has to deal with floods and drought at the same time.

"While we have drought in some regions, we have floods in others", he lamented.

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