Today is Blog Action Day, which occurs every October 15 and the objective of getting bloggers around the globe to post about the same issue. This year’s topic: Water. Blog Action Day aims to create a global discussion while driving collective action towards the issue.
The United Nations voted over the summer recognize access to clean water as a human right. However the UN vote is only the beginning, there is still a substantial amount of work needed to ensure that the commitment to provide access to clean to everyone is met. Some 1 billion people live without access to safe water and some 2.6 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation. That is some 1 billion people across the globe who currently rely on bacteria-infested water to survive, water that causes everything from diarrhea to dysentery.
Water for as simple as it seems is a complex and global fight, that has yet to see the finish line in sight. While many wonderful and sustainable water initiatives and programs are out there, the increasing population continues to strain the already burdened effort, and water and sanitation issues continue to plague communities across the globe. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every U.S. $1 invested in clean water access, is then returned with some 3-34 times that in time savings, productivity, improved education and reduced healthcare costs. The cost on return is really a no brainier when you are looking at the future of children and communities across the globe.
The Millennium Development Goal (MGD), (Goal #7; Ensure Environmental Sustainability), is surprisingly on a good track to achieve the goal:
Target 7.C:
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
- The world is on track to meet the drinking water target, though much remains to be done in some regions
- Accelerated and targeted efforts are needed to bring drinking water to all rural households
- Safe water supply remains a challenge in many parts of the world
- With half the population of developing regions without sanitation, the 2015 target appears to be out of reach
- Disparities in urban and rural sanitation coverage remain daunting
- Improvements in sanitation are bypassing the poor
Meeting this goal is essential as inadequate access to clean water accounts for more worldwide deaths annually than war. Those most effected are those most vulnerable populations, such as children, as some 1.5 million children die each year due to waterborne diseases. Waterborne diseases often break out in remote places, leaving billions in economic losses and affect some one billion people, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report. Theses diseases are spread with the help of mosquitoes, snakes, muddied rivers, snails and crustaceans. See more on Neglected Diseases and the devastating effect they have, by watching the following IRIN film here.
Do you know how much water you consume? You can find and manage your personal water footprint, with the Virtual Water Project’s Virtual Water iPhone App. The app tells you the amount of water used to produce a wide range of food products and then can be used to help you lower your water footprint.
Related Links:
Global Sanitation Fund
Global WASH Campaign
UN-Water
World Health Organization (WHO)
Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council
International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’
World Water Day site 2007
Water Aid
Children pay the price for lack of safe water and sanitation
UNICEF calls for children to be at centre of regional action on hygiene
UNICEF highlights water scarcity on World Water Day
PlayPumps International– uses the PlayPump water system,a merry-go-round attached to a water pump, and aims to install 4,000 PlayPump water systems in 10 African countries by 2010, bringing clean water to up to 10 million people.
Tap Project – UNICEF- Dine at Tap Project participating restaurants around the US during World Water Week, from March 16 – March 22, and donate a dollar for your free tap water.
The Water Project
El Porvenir supports self,help, community,initiated water, sanitation and reforestation projects in Nicaragua.
Water Advocates
