Water

Water is the basis of all life on our planet. Humans cannot exist without water and the sustainable management of water is seen by many as a crucial step towards fighting poverty.

Our lives are closely linked to our access to water and its many uses. Imagine yourself spending a day, just one day, without access to water. Think about the things you would not be able to do. Cook, clean, shower…to name a few activities we take for granted, yet millions of people in impoverished regions of the world are unable to carry them out.

History shows that clean water and sanitation can lift countries out of poverty. In the Victorian times, cities in the UK were often associated with poverty and disease. Diseases like cholera and typhoid frequently struck the providers of the family, reducing them to further poverty. Safe water and sanitation helped change their lives for the better.

This kind of water ‘poverty’ is still prevalent in developing regions. Today, over 1.1 billion people do not have access to improved sources of water and another 2.4 billion lack any kind of hygienic sanitation. Contaminated supplies of water cause the deaths of 2.2 million children every year.

The seventh Millennium Development Goal aims to ensure environmental sustainability by reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015.

Recent studies show that the water used per person in East African cities has halved between 1970 and 2000. Average collection time also increased from 9 minutes to 21 minutes. This precious time is taken from education, cooking, paid labour and childcare – activities that are an essential part of people’s lives and essential to the eradication of poverty.

Inadequate access to water is one of they key elements of poverty and provision of clean water and sanitation would both directly and indirectly help alleviate poverty. Time spent collecting water could be used to earn money instead. Money normally spent treating water-borne diseases like diarrhoea could instead be spent on education. The World Bank estimates that for every $1 invested in water sanitation projects, a return of $2 to $52 can be expected when all the health and economic benefits are taken into consideration.

The world is already aware of this crisis. We now need to take action, encouraging governments to use integrated and sustainable approaches.