Water problems affect half of humanity. Many of us think that contaminated water or lack of access to clean water is someone else’s concern. However, access to clean drinking water is becoming an ever-increasing problem that affects all of us, no matter where we live. According to the World Health Organization [WHO], access to safe drinking water is a basic human right and a component of effective policy for health protection of all global citizens (2017a). Water connects every aspect of life. According to Water.org (2018), access to safe water and sanitation quickly turns problems into potential—providing the opportunity for education, work, and improved health for women, children, and families across the world.
Did you know the following (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2005; Global Issues, 2013; Hotez, P. J. et al., 2006; Water.org, 2018; WHO, 2017a)?
- Globally, waterborne illness is the second leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age, resulting in over 1.8 million deaths or one child dying every 15 seconds.
- Approximately 2 to 3 million people die each year from water-related diseases (98% of these occur in the developing world). Many of these diseases are related to fecal contamination of water.
- Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time. Schistosomiasis—an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms contracted through infested water—affects approximately 240 million people.
- Trachoma is the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness and is caused by bacterial infection as a result of poor hygiene and sanitation. Approximately 41 million people suffer from active trachoma and almost 10 million people are visually impaired or irreversibly blind as a result of trachoma.
- At any given time, 50% of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.
- Of the nearly 900 million people who lack access to clean water, nearly half are children. One in three people lack access to a toilet. More people have access to a mobile phone than a toilet.