Water adds life

Water is often overlooked in the west when it comes to helping developing countries but is one of the most important issues for these countries. Having clean drinking water and proper sanitation can make a huge difference to developing countries. The extent of the problem is highlighted today in a new UNDP report, which is summarised in this BBC report: UN urges end to ‘water apartheid’. The report says that over one third of the world’s population does not have access to clean drinking water, and that water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea kill far more people than HIV/Aids and malaria combined. Having safe water and sanitation should be a human right, along with the right to freedom, justice and dignity, as enshrined in the declaration of human rights. One charity doing a lot to combat this problem is WaterAid: according to their website they “use practical solutions to provide safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people.” Their programs should be scaled up and the international community should spend more on providing safe water for everyone in the world.