For One Another Happenings

In developing countries, as much of 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.¹ 

443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases.²

Over half of the developing world’s primary schools do not have access to water and sanitation facilities. Without toilets, girls typically drop out of school at puberty.³

The availability of water is a concern for some countries. But the scarcity at the heart of the global water crisis is rooted in power, poverty and inequality, not in physical availability.⁴

1)United Nations. Statement by Secretary General Koffi Annan. June 2003. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/sgsm8707.doc.htm

2)United Nations Development Programme. “Human Development Report 2006: Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis.” 2006. Available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006/

3)UNICEF. “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” May 2010. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_45481.html

4) 2006 United Nations Human Development Report, 2006, p.2