5 Facts to Know About the Water Crisis
1. 1 in 10 people lack access to safe water.
In 2015, 663 million people, or 1 in 10, lacked access to safe drinking water sources. Nearly one-half of all people who are forced to rely on unsafe drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease.
Preventable waterborne diseases wreak havoc on communities by causing death, wide spread infection, and cognitive and physical impairment among the young; it is a staggering waste of human potential.
3. Globally 1/3 of all schools lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation.
4. At any one time, one-half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied with patients suffering from waterborne diseases.
5. As announced by the World Economic Forum in January 2015, the water crisis is the #1 global risk based on impact to society (as a measure of devastation).
Many organizations are attempting to find solutions to this problem, from drilling wells and building slow sand filters, to creating point-of-use technologies, such as household filters and disinfectant tablets. PureMadi is proud to be one of these organizations; we are putting the solution in the hands of communities by building ceramic water filter factories, employing locals, and enabling them to produce and distribute ceramic water filters that will purify a family’s water for 3-4 years.
References
World Health Organization and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP). (2015) Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation, 2015 Update and MDG Assessment.
World Economic Forum. (2015). Global Risks 2015 Report.
Water.org http://static.water.org/pdfs/Water%20Crisis%205-10.pdf