Water is a child's burden.
FACT: Fifty percent of undernutrition in children is due to inadequate water and sanitation. FACT: Diarrhea and pneumonia are the two leading causes of child death and both are frequently caused by unsafe water. FACT: One-third of school-age children in developing countries are infected with intestinal worms from water. FACT: 272 million school days are lost due to diarrhea. |
Water is a woman's burden.
FACT: Walking down a deserted path to collect water or seeking a bit of privacy to relieve oneself leads to daily violence against women. Read a deeply disturbing, detailed report by WaterAid or for excerpts: click here FACT: Faced with humiliation, girls drop out of school when they reach puberty and don't have facilities to take care of their hygiene needs. FACT: Bodies break under the heavy buckets, jars and jerry cans filled with water that makes their families sick. They have no choice. |
Water is a health burden.
FACT: 663 million people today lack access to safe water and 2.4 billion (one sixth of the world) doesn't have the dignity and safety of a toilet. FACT: At least 1.8 billion people globally use a source of drinking water that is fecally contaminated. FACT: Fifty different diseases and illnesses are linked to unsafe water. FACT: Less than 10 percent of healthcare facilities have water, soap, toilets and sanitation. FACT: Newborns die from preventative, facility-acquired infections. FACT: Immuno-suppressed HIV/AIDS patients must take anti-retroviral drugs with filthy water that makes them sick and unable to properly absorb the medications. FACT: 17 different Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are caused by poor water and sanitation, but we’re curing NTDs with medication rather than preventing them with access to safe water and sanitation. |
Water is an economic burden. FACT: Lost working days due to poor sanitation result in nearly $4 billion in damage to the global economy. Water causes conflict...and peace. FACT: But more often, water offers a path to peace. |
What do Jay-Z and Jane Goodall have in common? Faiths for Safe Water had the privilege to ask Dr. Jane Goodall about the global water crisis at the Parliament of the World's Religions. |
Jay-Z's video diary offers a surprisingly personal reaction as he visits a village in the southern African nation of Angola.
|