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The Problem: Lack of Water, Toilets, and the Cycle of Poverty |
The Numbers
- 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water
- 2.5 billion people worldwide lack even a simple toilet
- 5 million people, mostly children under the age of 5, die each year from water-related illnesses
- 200 million people, mostly women and girls, carry every drop of water their families use
- The world’s poorest spend $30 billion each year on the treatment of diseases caused by lack of access to water and toilets
These are estimates reported by the World Health Organization.
It’s difficult to determine the exact numbers, as there are no comprehensive surveys available, nor are there universal definitions of the terms “access” and “safe.” Regardless, the number of people who lack access to safe drinking water and hygienic toilets is unjustifiably large. |
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It Kills Children
Surviving diarrhea is the greatest single challenge for our world’s children. Five million people die each year from water-related diseases, mostly children under the age of 5. Diarrhea is the leading cause of death of children in countries with high child mortality rates.
Even when children do survive, they too often do not thrive. Children weakened by frequent diarrheal illnesses are malnourished and vulnerable to other infections, like pneumonia, leaving them physically and mentally underdeveloped for the rest of their lives.
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It Devastates Women and Girls
Women and girls are traditionally responsible for water collection, walking miles to the nearest sources. In addition to chronic back pain and skin sores, the burden of hauling heavy containers of water leaves women with little or no time to manage their households or participate in income-generating work. Young girls often help their mothers collect water, making them unable to attend school, perpetuating a cycle of illiteracy and poverty.
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It Deepens Poverty
Poor people spend a high percentage of their household income on medical treatment to combat frequent water-related illnesses. Additionally, without safe water sources nearby, women are often unable to engage in paid work or agriculture. Instead, their time is spent collecting water multiple times a day, caring for the ill in their households, or lacking the strength to work themselves because of injury or illness. Learn more by watching a film of Aberash, a mother in Ethiopia.
In urban squatter settlements, the lack of clean water directly impacts a household’s income. In these areas, the poor are forced to buy water of unknown quality at very expensive rates from illegal connections and are subjected to exploitation by the slum power structure. |
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Reducing poverty though water, sanitation and hygiene education
Helping communities in developing countries gain access to safe, sustainable water sources and hygienic toilets is a challenging problem to address. Nevertheless, this challenge must be taken up if we want to end poverty in our world.
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