You see a starving child. You think: Food.
Yes, they need food, but what they need first is clean water. Life-giving nutrients from food cannot be absorbed because of the different diseases and parasites brought about by the contaminated water they are drinking.
In Guatemala, 44 percent of children suffer from chronic malnutrition. But it is the lack of clean water that is the main factor for this high number. It is estimated that every year 860,000 child deaths from malnutrition worldwide could be prevented by providing clean water.
Over 840 million people worldwide suffer from malnutrition. At least 799 million of those live in developing countries and 153 million are young children.
Our first thought will probably always be that we need to provide them with more food. Ending hunger will bring transformation, but providing food is not enough.
We must start with clean water. We can work on alleviating hunger through providing water.