Water Facts from a Global
Perspective
1.1 Billion People lack access to safe drinking H20
- 42% of the world population (Approximately 2.6 Billion) lack
access to basic sanitation.
The UN Human Development Report, 2006. - In the developing world, water is largely a woman’s issue,
since women and girls are largely responsible for gathering water,
cleaning the home and caring for families.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Gender and Water, UN /
IANWGE - Lack of a close community Water Supply in rural areas is the #1
Reason young girls do not attend school.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Gender and Water, UN /
IANWGE - Every year, 3.4 million people die from Water-Related diseases.
– Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment Report, 2000
The World Health Organization and UNICEF - The 5 Billion cases of childhood diarrhea per year represent
the second largest cause of childhood death after acute respiratory
tract infection. This is directly the cause of poor sanitation /
lack of clean water.
The UN Human Development Report 2006 - Globally, diarrhea kills more people than TB and Malaria each
year.
The UN Human Development Report 2006 - 5 TIMES as many children die of diarrhea than of AIDS.
The UN Human Development Report, 2006 - The United States is the world’s leading consumer of bottled
water (26 Billion Liters in 2004).
The Earth Policy Institute - Bottled Water in the United States, at up to $2.50 per Liter
($10/gallon), costs more than Gasoline!
National Geographic News, 2006 - Groundwater systems (Aquifer reserves) are the predominant
resource of freshwater on Earth, but 98% of that is bound up in
glaciers and ice-caps
Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, (The Royal
Society) - Israel is largely in control of water resources in the
Jordan/Israel/Palestinian region, whether from the Jordan River or
from aquifers under the West Bank. Water from 2 of the West Bank’s
3 aquifers comprises fully 1 quarter of Israel’s total water
supply.
Middle East Report: Middle East Research and Information
Project
News and Updates from around the
World
National Geographic
“
Drying of the West”
Fox News
“From Waste Water to Drinking Water in Southern
California!”