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News > Latin America

Access to Water Has Improved Significantly in Bolivia

  • Bolivia's President Evo Morales speaks during a meeting with India's President Ram Nath Kovind in Santa Cruz.

    Bolivia's President Evo Morales speaks during a meeting with India's President Ram Nath Kovind in Santa Cruz. | Photo: reuters

Published 11 April 2019
Opinion

The government of President Evo Morales has invested around $2.9 billion in nationwide drinking water access, irrigation systems and sanitation in the past 13 years. 

According to Bolivia's Minister for the Environment and Water, Carlos Ortuño, Bolivia has made significant improvements when it comes to access to water under the leadership of President Evo Morales, with investments steadily rising. 

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The 2009 Constitution of Bolivia has introduced access to drinking water and sanitation as a human right. A clear change in rights as previous governments privatized water as a means to attract private investors, leading to unaffordable prices and environmental damages for farmers, eventually resulting in the so-called "water war" of Cochabamba in the year 2000. 

Due to the commitment of the Bolivian government, today, more than 9.7 million people have access to water. This corresponds to about 86 percent of the population. Of the urban population, 95 percent of people have access to water, compared to 67 percent in rural areas. In 2005, before Evo Morales took office, only 68 percent of the population in urban areas had access to water, while in the countryside it was just 44 percent. 

Irrigation systems have also improved since Evo Morales took office. At the moment, the country is irrigating 500,000 hectares of land by the various sprinkler systems and other technologies, improving the agricultural sector and food security as a whole. 

Bolivia aims to have the entire populations access to water secured by the year 2025 and seems to be making vast progress in the area. 

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