|
Magazine
A big issue
A BILLION people lack clean water and two billion more lack safe sanitation, affecting their health, dignity, environment, children and quality of life.
It is an issue that is being neglected because it is of concern mainly to the very poor, and something most politicians find unglamorous.
It is also an issue that should be at the forefront of the Johannesburg agenda.
The Switzerland-based Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is seeking to get the message across during the World Summit in South Africa as part of a global "WASH" campaign.
Its messages will be displayed in every washroom.
And here's why it is the big issue because:
for a third of the world, the real environment crisis is squalor, smells and disease on the doorstep.
at any given moment, almost half the developing world's people are sick from unsafe water and sanitation
lack of water supply and sanitation robs millions of women of dignity, energy and time
frequent disease in childhood is the main cause of poor growth and early death
half of the developing world's hospital beds are occupied by victims of unsafe water and sanitation
hygiene-related illness costs developing countries five billion working days a year
by 2030, two-thirds of the world will be in cities
sustainable development starts with peoples's health and dignity.
www.wsscc.org
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Magazine
|
