- The world water crisis is the largest public health issue of our time
- 1.2 billion people (nearly 20% of the world's population) lack access to safe drinking water
- In 2004, 2.2 million deaths worldwide were attributed to unsafe water; 9 out often of these were children under 5 years of age
- The lack of clean water kills an estimated 4,500 children a day
- Today a third of the world's population lives in water-stressed countries. By 2025 this is expected to rise to two-thirds
- Diarrhoea diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation claim the lives of 1.8 million children a year and seriously damage the health and development of millions more
- In major emergencies, the two most deadly health risks are insufficient or unsafe water and inadequate sanitation, therefore providing safe water and adequate sanitation is critical
- Contaminated drinking water carrying bacteria and viruses both in public water supply and private sources are responsible for chronic water-borne diseases such as hepatitis, gastroenteritis, ulcers, cholera, acute dehydration, diarrhoea and intestinal problems, as well as parasites such as Guinea worm. (Source: Wateraid)
Click here for a PDF from the World Health Organisation WHO listing facts and figures for the diseases common in areas without clean drinking water and safe sanitation.
Maps and Information
Click here for a PDF of a magazine article in which global experts discuss some of the challenges facing those at the forefront of tackling the World Water Crisis.
The following PDFs are a collaborative product of four organisations: IUCN - The World Conservation Union, the International Water Management institute IWMI, the Ramsar Convention Bureau, and the World Resources Institute WRI.
Population growth, industrialisation, urbanisation, agricultural intensification, and water intensive lifestyles are placing greater stress on freshwater systems, with both water use and pollution driving the scarcity of useable water. Over the past century world water withdrawals increased almost twice as fast as population growth. Click here for a PDF detailing the Average Population Density by Basin.
Freshwater systems are influenced not only by modifying rivers, lakes, and wetlands directly, but also by changing land-use patterns in the whole watershed. The pattern and extent of cities, roads, agricultural land, and natural areas within a watershed all have an impact on water quantity and quality. Click here for a PDF detailing the Urban and Industrial Area by Basin.
There is growing awareness that increased water use by humans does not only reduce the amount of water available for industrial and agricultural development, but has a profound effect on aquatic ecosystems and their dependent species. Human activities have severely affected the condition of freshwater ecosystems. Click here for a PDF detailing the Environmental Water Scarcity Index by Basin.
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