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Water and sanitation

Clean water saves lives

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Two and a half billion people have no access to basic sanitation and 900 million people no clean water.

Water and sanitation is a cornerstone of development, underpinning all of the MDGs, in particular those concerning health, education and economic growth. But most of the world’s poorest countries have to cope with high rainfall variability and minimal infrastructure to store and distribute water.

The short film presented here, produced in partnership with the NGO Worldvision to coincide with World Water Day 2009, illustrates some of the challenges that lack of access to clean water and sanitation pose to millions around the world.

Just the facts

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Sanitation

Two and a half billion people have no access to basic sanitation. Simply providing clean water does not resolve the many health problems and related issues that arise if sanitation is not available. Improved sanitation cuts disease, saves thousands of lives each year and reduces healthcare costs by billions of pounds.

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Water

People cannot live without water, and the daily toil involved in fetching it is a defining feature of poverty.

But water is not just essential for life. It is a human right and the cornerstone of development, underpinning every single one of the MDGs. This means that unless we tackle water issues now, development efforts in areas such as health, education and economic growth will not achieve their full potential. In fact, improving water and sanitation services and managing water well are among the most effective ways of boosting economies and reducing poverty.

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