“Water, like religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people. Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to settle close to it. People move when there is too little of it. People move when there is too much of it. People journey down it. People write, sing and dance about it. People fight over it. And all people, everywhere and every day, need it.” – Mikhail Gorbachev
88% of the global burden of disease attributable to diarrhoea is due to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene, and is concentrated in developing countries. The resulting impacts of ill health, including impaired child growth and cognitive development; reduced work capacity and lost productivity, compounds cycles of poverty.
Clean Water Changes Lives
Healthier days for children & adults
Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially susceptible to water-borne illnesses, with diarrhoea the second biggest cause of death in children under five years old. Diarrhoea is also an immediate cause of undernutrition.
More days for learning
Access to clean water and sanitation is estimated to lead to an additional 272 million school-attendance days for children each year due to improved health.
More days for earning a living
Convenient water supply and sanitation services are estimated to provide time savings of 20 billion working days per year as well as an additional 320 million productive days gained due to improved health.
