What’s at Stake

The water crisis
Water is at the heart of a daily crisis faced by almost a billion of the world’s most vulnerable people—a crisis that threatens life and destroys livelihoods on a devastating scale. This is a silent crisis experienced by the poor, and tolerated by those with the resources, technology, and the political power to end it. Yet this is a crisis that is holding back human progress, consigning large segments of humanity to lives of poverty, vulnerability, and insecurity.

It’s a health issue - at any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease. Nearly 90 percent of all diseases in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene. Every year, there are 4 billion cases of diarrhea as a direct result of drinking contaminated water resulting in more than 2.2
million deaths each year.

It’s an education issue - water-related diseases cost 443 million school days a year. More than 150 million school-age children are severely affected by waterborne parasites like roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm. These children commonly carry up to 1000 parasites at a time, causing anemia, stunted growth, and other debilitating conditions. Children who suffer from constant water-related illnesses carry the disadvantages into school. Poor health directly reduces cognitive potential and indirectly undermines schooling through absenteeism, attention deficits, and early drop-out.

It’s a poverty issue - in sub-Saharan Africa alone, 40 billion hours of labor are wasted each year carrying water over long distances. Access to clean water is the foundation for other forms of development. Without easy access to water that is safe, countless hours are spent in water collection, household income is spent on purchasing water and medical treatment for water-related diseases. These factors contribute to keeping people trapped in poverty. The statistics indicate a two-way relationship between extreme poverty and lack of access to safe water. About two-thirds of those without access to safe water live on less than $2 a day. Half of these (roughly equivalent to the population of the United States) live on less than $1 a day.

It’s a women’s issue - many women spend 15-20 hours per week collecting water, often walking up to 7 miles in the dry season. It is typically women who collect water, often waiting for long periods, and having to get up very early or go out late at night to get their water; they carry heavy water containers for long distances over uneven terrain. It is women who have to buy, scrounge, or beg for water, particularly when their usual sources run dry. The tragedy is that the water they work so hard to collect is often dirty, polluted, and unsafe to drink. Women trapped in this situation have little time for other activities such as child care, rest, or productive work. The time spent collecting water dis-empowers women by reinforcing time-poverty and lowering income.

The water solution
The provision of safe, accessible water is the first and most important contribution to a community’s health and development. It immediately eliminates harmful bacteria and parasites from people’s drinking water. It immediately frees up time for children and women, who spend much of their time fetching water to go to school and engage in productive business activities. It enables the production of healthy food production. It gives women a safer and more even playing field to serve their families and earn money.

Water Facts
Water-related diseases kill a child every 8 seconds, and are responsible for 80% of all illnesses and deaths in the developing world. (1)

2.4 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. (1)

One person in six lives without regular access to safe drinking water. (1)

Across the world, water-related diseases are the leading cause of death for children under the age of 5. (2)

At least 1 billion people must walk three hours or more to obtain drinking water. (3)

At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease. (4)

The UN Human Development Report 2006 unequivocally identifies the crises in drinking water and sanitation as a crisis for the poor, on the evidence that almost two in three people lacking access to safe drinking water survive on less than $2 a day and one in three on less than $1 a day.(1)

Nearly 97 percent of the world’s water is saltwater or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2 percent is held in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves just one percent for all of humanity’s needs (agricultural, residential, industrial, etc.) ­as freshwater. (5)

1 - United Nations
2 - World Health Organization
3 - National Geographic Society
4 - WaterPartners
5 - United States Geological Survey