Living Water International

TOTAL AMOUNT CRAFTING WATER HAS GIVEN TO LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL (DECEMBER 2011): $47.00

LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL KEY FACTS

• 1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day. (UNDP)• 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one in eight of the world’s population. (WHO-UNICEF)

• LWI projects providing safe water and hygiene education at an average cost of twenty dollars per person, for a generation. (LWI)

• The simple act of washing hands with soap and clean water can reduce diarrheal diseases by over 40%. (UNICEF)

• Providing water and hygiene education reduces the number of deaths caused by diarrhoeal diseases by an average of 65%. (WHO)

• Water-related disease is the second biggest killer of childrenworldwide, after acute respiratory infections like tuberculosis. (UNDP)

• The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads is commonly 40 pounds, the same as the average airport luggage allowance. (UNDP)

• Water and sanitation infrastructure helps people take the first essential step out of the cycle of poverty and disease.

WATER-RELATED DISEASES

• At any given time, half the population of the developing world is suffering from one or more of the main diseases associated with inadequate provision of water and sanitation. (UNDP)

• At any one time, half of the developing world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-related diseases. (UN)

• Around 90% of incidences of water-related diseases are due to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene and is mostly concentrated on children in developing countries. (WHO)

• Intestinal worms infect about 10% of the population of the developing world. Intestinal parasitic infections can lead to malnutrition, anaemia and stunted growth. (WHO)

WATER USE

• The average North American uses 400 liters a day. European uses 200 liters. (UNDP)

• The average person in the developing world uses 10 liters of water every day for their drinking, washing and cooking. (Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC))

• On current trends over the next 20 years humans will use 40% more water than they do now. (UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

• Agriculture accounts for over 80% of the world’s water consumption. (UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

EDUCATION AND ECONOMY

• 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. (UNDP)

• 40 billion working hours are spent carrying water each year in Africa. (Cosgrove and Rijsberman 1998)• 11% more girls attend school when sanitation is available. (DFID)

• Households in rural Africa spend an average of 26% of their time fetching water, and it is generally women who are burdened with the task. (DFID)