The U.N. designates March 22 as the day of the year when we spotlight the global safe water and sanitation issue and the collective efforts underway to get solutions to those struggling and in need
Together, We Are Solving the Global Water Crisis
In contrast to easy access to taps and toilets across the United States, today much of the world faces a global safe drinking water and sanitation crisis. One out of every eight people lacks safe drinking water and two out of every five people lack adequate sanitation.
World Water Day is March 22. Recognized by the United Nations and the global community, World Water Day reminds us that much of the world still faces a global water and sanitation crisis, and that it is our urgent obligation to act. This year, a coalition of diverse US-based groups is calling for increased commitments by the US government and private citizens to reduce poverty, disease and hunger by helping to improve sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation for many millions around the world.
Why Invest in Water and Sanitation?
Investing in safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene makes economic, social, and financial sense. Many key water and sanitation solutions are cost-effective: every $1 invested in water and sanitation improvements returns on average $8 in increased economic productivity and averted healthcare costs. In addition, these solutions have immediate impacts on health and education: preventing cases of diarrheal diseases among children - the leading cause of child death in Africa - can prevent deaths as well as improve cognitive development and nutritional status.
Americans support prioritizing water and sanitation in developing countries, creating a ripple effect making this investment one of the smartest in tight economic times. Recent UN Foundation polling shows enthusiasm among Americans for the US government to support clean water and sanitation in developing countries. Water and sanitation programs are important in their own right, and get results across multiple sectors. Communities with safe drinking water and sanitation also see tangible progress in children’s health, school attendance, and local economic development.
Investments in water and sanitation are working, but there is a long way to go. Significant progress has been made globally towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for water. The world is on track to meet the MDG targets for water, and in sub-Saharan Africa access to drinking water has improved 22% since 1990. .
However, many of the most vulnerable countries remain underserved. Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, is home to 40% of those without safe water, with at least 15 countries in the region not on track to meet the MDG target. Even more startling, nearly 40% of the world’s population lives without access to adequate sanitation and only a handful of developing countries are on track to meet the MDG target.
What Should Be Done?
Scale up the solutions that are already working. US support for water and sanitation has produced demonstrable results in thousands of communities around the world. Solutions include digging wells and boreholes, harvesting rainwater, protecting springs, water filtering and purification, and building safe and affordable latrines. Sustainability is key: programs must be implemented in a fashion that is sustainable on a local level, in technical, financial, social, and environmental terms. Integrating simple and cost-effective water and sanitation solutions into child survival, health, and nutrition programs can dramatically decrease both child mortality and long-term developmental problems caused by the most common child killers - diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition.
Encourage decision makers to target US funding to the countries and communities most in need of first-time access. The US government must ensure the funding it provides for international water and sanitation programs benefits the people who need it most. Most of those living without safe drinking water and improved sanitation are poor people in impoverished countries. Helping to provide first-time access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation in those communities will also ensure progress toward other related goals: improved health, poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, and increased educational opportunities.
Why now?
The needs are great, and solutions exist today. Today’s investments in global water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives are working. Around the world successful models for replication exist. While working towards long-term change in infrastructure, capacity building and health systems, we should prioritize funding and implementation for programs that can deliver packages of cost-effective, sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene interventions available today.
About the Coalition for World Water Day
A diverse coalition of water, sanitation, hygiene and health organizations has come together for World Water Day 2011. Its goal is to raise awareness and call for stronger commitments and more robust action to ensure universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The global safe drinking water crisis can be solved with solutions available today. The 2011 coalition includes Catholic Relief Services, CARE, charity: water, Church World Service, Food for the Hungry, Global Water Challenge, International Relief & Development, Lifewater, Living Water International, Millennium Water Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, PATH, Procter & Gamble, PSI, Save the Children, Tetra Tech, WASH Advocacy Initiative, WaterAid, Water For People, Water.org, World Vision, and Water and Sanitation Program.
