The Water Crisis

Safe water = health

One tenth of the global disease burden could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation and hygiene.

Children are the main victims: one child dies every 17 seconds from lack of access to safe water and basic sanitation.

Each year, diarrhoeal diseases kill 1.4 million children, while malaria accounts for over 1 million deaths in Africa alone. Diarrhoea and malaria are both preventable, as well as a great number of tropical diseases.

Healthy lives = brighter future

$28.4 billion per year is lost due to lack of sanitation and access to safe water in Africa. But every dollar invested in clean water and sanitation returns $8 of productivity improvement.

This means economic growth.

Children’s education can be improved if they spend less time collecting water and more time in school—especially girls. A nearby water source could save them up to 3 hours per day.

So much is at stake

The numbers prove water’s importance, but UNESCO also highlights non-measurable improvements triggered by access to clean water:

Well-being, dignity, safety.

Water changes people’s lives.