To mark World Water Day 2016, End Water Poverty member WaterAid launch their new report which shows the shocking reality that the poorest people in the world are paying the highest price for safe water – and calls on governments to act now for universal access.
‘Water: At What Cost?’ examines the most difficult places in the world for people to get clean water and reveals how the world’s poorest often pay far more of their income for water than those who are better off. Our analysis shows that in a country like Madagascar, a person reliant on a tanker truck for their water supply can spend as much as 45% of their daily income on water to get just the recommended daily minimum supply. In Mozambique, families relying on black-market vendors will spend up to 100 times as much on water as those reached by government-subsidised tapstands.
650 million people in the world still do not have access to clean water and more than 2.3 billion do not have access to basic sanitation, with devastating results. Some 315,000 children under five die each year of diarrhoeal diseases related to the lack of these basic rights. The World Health Organization estimates that 50% of malnutrition is associated with diarrhoea or infections directly resulting from lack of clean water, sanitation and good hygiene including handwashing with soap.
As the world turns its attention to delivering on the promise of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, new integrated approaches are needed. Goals to end poverty and malnutrition, achieve health and quality education for all, to secure decent work and economic growth and to reduce inequalities are all inextricably linked to the Goal of water, sanitation and hygiene for all. This report reveals the worst affected countries in the world, as well as the most improved, and calls on governments to take urgent action.
Download this critical report today in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Together for a better future!