The world water crisis is one of the largest public health issues of our time. Combine war, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and even traffic accidents...dirty water still kills more people. The lack of clean, safe drinking water is estimated to kill over 6,000 children per day.
In fact, out of the estimated 2.2 million unsafe drinking water deaths every year, 90 percent are children under the age of 5. Water is essential to the treatment of diseases, and especially critical for children.
This crisis is created by a variety of factors including climate and geography, lack of water systems and infrastructure, and inadequate sanitation, something that 2.6 billion people (40 percent of the world’s population) lack access to. Some of these countries have additional problems, including high levels of arsenic and fluoride in drinking water.
Many women and young children in rural areas in sub-Saharan African and other parts of the world must trek as many as twelve miles every day to retrieve water for their families. Due to this manual labor, such women and children are prevented from pursuing an education, maintaining their households, or earning additional income.
Let’s face it, it’s difficult for us to totally understand the global need for water. We walk to a faucet, turn the tap on, and water flows. We’re always just a few steps away from clean water.
But to put it in perspective, think about this. You use more water in a single toilet flush than the average person in Africa uses in an entire day.
The water near the ground in developing countries is filthy and full of diseases and parasites.
The clean water they really need is deep under their feet and they need help to get to it.