NO MATTER HOW DIFFERENT WE ARE, WE ALL NEED
Why Water? - Under Construction
While many hardships befall the people of Tharaka and others, water is perhaps the most prevalent. It is necessary for life and for good health. It is also within our ability to remedy. Statistics about the importance of water are numerous, yet it is unbeknownst to many whose needs are already met.
"Almost one tenth of the global disease burden could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene and management of water resources." - World Health Organization "Half of the hospital beds in the world are occupied by patients suffering from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene." - United Nations Development Programme “780 million people lack access to an improved water source; approximately one in nine people.” - Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking "443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related illness." - United Nations Development Programme |
"Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation." - Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council "More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in the developing world." - World Health Organization "[The water and sanitation] crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns." - United Nations Development Programme 500,000 deaths as a result of malaria occur each year. This statistic is only based off of the preventable deaths. As malaria is spread from stagnant water, environmental management is estimated to remove 42% of malaria cases. - World Health Organization |
If you are not convinced, please see the following link of the World Health Organization's publication on water: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241596435_eng.pdf