The World Water Crisis

There are a billion people in the world without safe water. Each year more than 5 million people die from water-related disease, mostly children. In fact, 84% of water-related deaths are children. As a mother of two, I cannot imagine losing my children to a disease that is completely preventable.

Why isn't the whole world trying to stop these preventable deaths? Why is this not the top of the agenda of the governments of the world? I think it is simply because most people don't know about it. So here are some facts about the water crisis from WaterPartners:

• Each year more than five million people die from water-related disease.
• 2.5 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation, including 1.2 billion people who still have no facilities at all.
• Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
• For children under age five, water-related diseases are the leading cause of death.
• Millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting water from distant, often polluted sources.
• At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.
• No intervention has greater overall impact upon national development and public health than the provision of safe drinking water and the proper disposal of human waste.

Want to help? Learn more about the water crisis. Raise awareness by blogging about the water crisis. Donate to organizations like WaterPartners.

Picture courtesy of WaterPartners International.