20 March 2012
Video: A message from Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development on World Water Day
On 6 March 2012 the UN announced that the target to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water had been met.
The achievement is one of the first targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be reached, and means that more than 2 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water over the past two decades.
However, a great deal of work remains to be done. Around 738 million people remain without access to clean drinking water and around 40% of the world’s population - 2.5 billion people - still lack basic sanitation. In sub-Saharan Africa, seven out of ten people have no access to even a basic toilet.
As we mark World Water Day on 22 March 2012, the UK remains committed to improving access to clean drinking water, proper sanitation and better hygiene for millions more of the world’s poorest people.
Reviewing results
Last year, we said we would give 15 million people access to clean water, provide 25 million people with access to sanitation, and improve hygiene for 15 million people by 2015.
Since then, we have reviewed the results, impact and value for money of our entire Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) portfolio to reveal where and how we may be able to deliver even greater results for the world’s poorest people.
You can read the full Portfolio Review here and find out what WaterAid’s Barbara Frost has to say about UK aid for water and sanitation in her guest blog for DFID.
Water does not just save lives in the short term – it is also a cornerstone for delivering economic growth and helping countries to work their way out of poverty.
That’s why, as well as giving more people access to clean water, the UK is supporting a number of programmes that will help the world’s poorest countries to harness the full potential of their water resources.
Watch the Secretary of State’s video message for World Water Day to hear more about the UK’s commitment to giving more people access to water and sanitation, and to helping the world’s poorest countries manage their water resources wisely.
Improving access to clean water
Women are disproportionately affected by a lack of easily accessible safe water. In some of the world’s poorest countries, girls and women walk for miles every day to collect water for their families, meaning they often miss out on%20at%20St%20Cecilia%20borehole%20(2)250x190.jpg)
opportunities to work or go to school.
Find out how a new water point has changed life for the better for one woman in South Sudan, and how UK aid will help CAFOD to bring clean water to more of the world’s poorest communities.
Better sanitation
Four thousand children die every day as a result of diarrhoeal disease, the vast majority of which is due to inadequate access to water and sanitation. At any one time, half of all hospital beds in developing countries are filled with people suffering from water-related diseases.
Find out how UNICEF and UK aid are helping to reach the poorest communities in Bangladesh with vital messages about the importance of good hygiene and sanitation.