A day to celebrate fresh water was recommended to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. Since then, World Water Day has been celebrated each year on March 22.The theme of this year’s celebration is cooperation across organizations and governments to improve access to healthy water.
Since 1990, the number of people able to access improved drinking water has increased by 2 billion and the number of people with access to sanitation resources has increased by 1.8 billion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Still, there are millions who lack access to everyday clean drinking water and proper sanitation. According to the U.N., about 783 million people lack access to clean water and nearly 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation resources. This can cause serious diseases and even epidemics.
Between 6 million and 8 million people die annually from the consequences of disasters and water-related diseases. Diarrheal diseases which are often caused by unsafe water or poor sanitation account for one ninth of childhood deaths worldwide, according to the CDC. “In 2010, over 800,000 children under 5 years of age died from diarrhea, making diarrhea the second leading cause of death among children under the age of 5.”
The CDC has a program called global WASH that aims to save lives and reduce the incidence of illnesses such as cholera, typhoid fever and hepatitis by improving global access to healthy and safe water, adequate sanitation, and improved hygiene. The WASH program’s long-term goals including improving health, reducing poverty, and improving socioeconomic development.
