Why Water?
Unsafe water and poor sanitation are the biggest killers of children in the developing world in 2004. Hundreds of organizations, from large multilaterals to small charities, have been working continuously to solve this problem. Yet:
- 1.2 billion people remain without safe water in the developing world
- 2.4 billion live without adequate sanitation facilities
- this silent emergency kills up to 5 million people each year and billions more are sickened
- over 80 percent of the developing world's illnesses are caused by unsafe water
- the economic costs associated with this water-related death and disease are incalculable and contribute greatly to preventing developing countries from increasing their standards of living.
We know today the solution to the problem. As Boerge Brende, Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, says:
Most analyses indicate that the 'water crisis' is primarily an institutional problem reflecting lack of capacity, finance, and political will…rather than a water crisis as such.