// 004 WATER CRISIS

"Our vision is a world where all people have access to safe drinking water and sanitation; a world where no one suffers or dies from a water- or sanitation-related disease."
– Water for People Mission Statement

Today, 1 out of every 6 people on Earth lacks access to clean water — and 2 out of every five people lack access to basic sanitation. As a result, water-related diseases cause the deaths of over 5 million people each year — mostly children.

Your mission this week: Take action to help save at least one of those lives.

Discover the fast facts: What is water security?

Bonus files:
The future of universal water
Inventing water's future

The 3 most urgent consequences of the water crisis*

Disease and death: 5 million people die each year from water-related diseases, mostly children under the age of five.

Lost time and potential: Collecting water is a difficult and time-intensive task, leaving women with little or no time to manage their households or participate in income-generating work. Young girls often help their mothers collect water, making them unable to attend schools.

Wasted resources: People without access to clean water spend a high percentage of their household income on medical treatment to combat frequent water-related illnesses, making it difficult for them to save and improve their quality of life. The World Health Organization estimates that if everyone had access to water and sanitation, over $11 billion would be saved in treatment costs annually, and people would gain 5.5 billion productive days each year.

*From the Water 1st Statement on the Water Crisis