Water and sanitation: a partnership for change

This video shows the International Federation Global Water and Sanitation Initiative (GWSI) in action at the Zambia Red Cross Society "Rural Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Project"

In our world today:

• more than one billion people do not have access to clean water;

• over two billion people do not have adequate sanitation facilities;

• some four million people die each year from diseases associated with the lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene

• 4,000 children under five years old die every day from those same associated diseases.

Added to this, in times of disaster and crises, the urgency to meet basic water and sanitation needs saves lives, reduces diseases and restores dignity. The overall water and sanitation challenge is best expressed in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular goals 2, 3, 4 and 7, which have water and sanitation components. Our response is therefore to set our targets as a contribution to meeting those goals.

The Global Water and Sanitation Initiative (GWSI)

Over the last ten years, the International Federation has established and consolidated a water and sanitation vision, policy and capacity to better address two principle global challenges.

1. Acute water and sanitation challenges, mostly related to crises and disasters, where there is the urgency to provide basic needs to save lives, contain or reduce health threats and restore dignity.

2. Chronic water and sanitation challenges, mostly related to the fact that still a large proportion of the world's poor do not have access to adequate safe water and sanitation, causing death, disease and loss of productivity. Around four million people die every year as a result of poor water and sanitation access; many are children under five years of age.

The GWSI outlines a common approach among National Societies to establish larger-scale, longer-term sustainable water and sanitation programs to contribute more effectively in meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The GWSI, in combination with the MDG initiative and the launch of a second UN decade for water (2005-2015), intends to generate more available resources for Red Cross and Red Crescent water and sanitation projects. During this time, the International Federation plans to target at least an additional five million vulnerable people worldwide.

More information: http://www.ifrc.org/what/health/water/
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Year: 2007
Duration: 7 minutes 35 seconds

• Category

  Nonprofits & Activism

[kencoafrica]

water is life - life is priceless- and so is water

[AzeriIsGod]

great video!

[damsnapcracklepop]

I think you might like Who Gives A Crap. They are a new toilet paper brand that uses 50% of its profits to build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world.

[heartlessvietboy]

What third world countries need.

1. More housing project plans and homes built.

2. Farming and Agriculture for their food.

3. Domesticating animals for healthy meat.

4.  Water pipelines for clean drinking water.

[JPPT1974]

Sadly people do take sanitation for granted. And when we ignore it, then it becomes quite a problem.

[uhateusaFU]

I think if my kids were in danger, from lack of water, I would move to where the water is. A cow could figure that out.

[maxsambucetti]

En principio las grandes multinacionales inglesas y de los EE.UU deberían dejar de explotar y asesinar a los africanos y su tierra. Es bonito jugar a hacer el bien en Africa y de hecho esta de moda tanto en Europa como en norteamérica, pero el problema es mucho más de fondo. Jugar al aguatero sólo les sirve para "lavar" la conciencia, y lo que que aquí hace falta es "lavar", hacer correr el agua de verdad. Y entonces sobrarán ríos en Africa.

.

[chi773guy]

You obviously don't know shit about water and wastewater treatment.

[hosseinfromparis]

water is a diamond who dies in the sky....

[iceb131]

Like they said some people there didnt have the knowledge that boiling water will kill all bacteria. How would you like to have to get your water from a filthy lake then boil only 5 gallons at most just to wash your family. Thats a lot of work.

[charlieclown]

how hard is it to light a fire and boil some water?

[dankman38]

Actually the costs of drilling a well are relatively low, especially considering what is gained of it. What people like you do not realize is that where you find people living in squalor you will find political instability, political stability costs people like you millions yearly.