SUVA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- About 96,000 people, or around 12 percent of Fiji's population, do not have access to clean and safe drinking water, the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) said on Saturday.

According to Fijivillage website, the WAF said that the shortage was mainly in the rural areas of the South Pacific island nation which has a population of more than 880,000.

Currently, the average water usage in the island nation is about 220 liters of water per person per day as opposed to international average of between 150 liters to 180 liters per person per day.

The WAF is targeting to bring the average down to at most 180 liters of water per person per day under the Demand Management program.

Everyone needs to change their water usage behavior to ensure they conserve this precious finite resource by using it wisely at all times, the WAF said.

The WAF said that it has been conducting water conservation awareness campaigns under the Demand Management program to educate the public on saving water practices via road shows, community engagements, school visits and public events apart from media advertising.?