by STELLA PAUL
The Water Man of India, Rajendra Singh, has spent 35 years reviving water bodies and bringing water to villages across India PHOTO/Stella Paul/IPS
Globally, more than 748 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. That is more than double the population of the entire United States.
United Nations data suggests that 1.8 billion people – that is 500 million more than the population of China – drink water that is faecally contaminated. Every year, over two million people die due to a lack of clean water.
According to the latestWorld Water Development Report, demand for water could rise by 55 percent by 2050, an increase driven primarily by the manufacturing sector.
As the international community shifts its poverty eradication framework from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to its highly ambitious sustainable development agenda, the issue of water has never been more critical.
Between the din of policymakers trapped in endless high-level debates and scores of citizens feeling the pinch of drought, thirst and water transmitted illness – some sources say that 5,000 children die every day as a result of water-borne disease – a few voices are making themselves heard, lending clarity to one of the world’s most complex and urgent problems.
Inter Press Service for more