1.1 Billion people in the world do not have access to safe water
- one-sixth of the world's population.
2.4 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate
sanitation - two-fifths of the world's population.
Sixty-six percent of a human being is water.
QUANTITY
The average person in the UK uses 135 litres of water every day.
The average person in the developing world uses 10 litres of
water a day.
The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their
heads is equivalent of your airport luggage allowance. (20kg)
One flush of your loo uses as much water as the average person
in the developing world uses for a whole day's washing, cleaning,
cooking and drinking.
HEALTH
2.2 million people in the developing countries, most of them
children, die every year from diseases associated with lack of
access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor
hygiene.
A child dies every 15 seconds from diseases associated with lack
of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor
hygiene.
The number of children that die every day from diseases associated
with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation
and poor hygiene is the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing daily.
Deaths from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking
water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene represent approximately
15% of all child deaths under the age of five in developing countries.
The simple act of washing hands with soap and water can reduce
diarrhoeal disease by one-third.
80% of all diseases, four out of five cases of sickness, in developing
countries can be attributed to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation.
At any one time it is estimated that half of the world's hospital
beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases.
RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT:
Improved water quality reduces childhood diarrhoea by 15-20%.
BUT Better hygiene through hand washing and safe food handling
reduces it by 35%.
AND Safe disposal of children's faeces leads to a reduction of
nearly 40%.
SOME MONEY FACTS:
£15 can provide a person with safe water, adequate sanitation
and knowledge of good hygiene practices.
Europeans spend £7 billion on ice cream each year.
Only £18-20 billion is spent annually on the water and
sanitation in developing countries.
Only an additional £17 billion is required annually to
achieve the international development targets of halving the number
of people without access to safe water by 2015 and the proposed
target of halving the number of people without adequate sanitation
by 2015.
US $17 billion of this amount needs to be prioritised on sanitation,
with the rest going to water supply.
By 2025, seven out of every ten people in the world will live
in conditions of water shortage, compared with around four out
of ten today.
