Safe and accessible drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are fundamental to human health. Without them, disease spreads, poverty grows, and opportunity disappears.
Unsafe water is a leading cause of disease and death throughout the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that at least 1.7 billion (or almost 1 in 4) people on our planet are drinking water each day contaminated by feces, and over half a million people are dying each year from diarrheal diseases caused by contaminated water and inadequate sanitation and hygiene. Many of these are young children – as they are especially vulnerable to the dangers of unsafe water.
In Africa, nearly half of the people throughout the continent lack access to safe water, and only 30% of sub-Saharan Africans have access to adequate sanitation, which is only a four-percentage-point improvement since 1990. In contrast, 90% of northern Africans have access.
Rising water costs, a lack of infrastructure, and climate change have led to an increase in water scarcity. And the situation is almost always worse in rural areas as they have to travel further to access safe water and sanitation services.
In response, the United Nations has included water and sanitation among its Development Goals since 2010 — insisting that everyone on the planet should have access to safe water for drinking, handwashing, and sanitation by the year 2030.
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF UNSAFE WATER
When people are sick from drinking dirty water, adults can’t work and children can’t go to school. This has a chronic economic impact on families, communities, nations, and entire regions. The World Bank Group, an organization dedicated to eradicating extreme poverty in developing countries, says its research shows that unsafe water reduces potential economic growth by as much as one-third.
“Clean water is a key factor for economic growth,”; says World Bank Group President David Malpass. “Deteriorating water quality is stalling economic growth, worsening health conditions, reducing food production, and exacerbating poverty in many countries.”
ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS:
- Child Mortality and Deadly Disease Spread
Contaminated water leads to cholera, diarrhea, and other preventable diseases that claim thousands of lives, especially children.
Every 35 seconds, a child dies from water-related diseases. - Missed Education and Period Poverty
Children, especially girls, miss school to collect water or cannot attend during their menstrual cycles due to shame, stigma and the lack of basic hygiene products, a challenge known as period poverty. - Wells Break or Go Unused
Even when wells are drilled, many break down or are vandalized due to lack of maintenance and local training, leaving communities right back where they started. - Cycles of Poverty
Time lost to water collection, illness, and caregiving reduces productivity and traps families in cycles of poverty.
