Water and sanitation is fundamental to sustainable development. Many children, particularily girls, are denied an education because they are required to fetch water, or do not have access to private, sanitary washroom facilities at school. Women spend much of their day fetching water, and illness and death caused by waterborne diseases or dehydration have a detrimental effect on the productivity of a community, continuing a cycle of poverty.

How much water is available?

What is the world doing?

What can I do?

Water availability

More than 70 per cent of the Earth's surface is covered with water, but 97.5 per cent of all water is salt water, leaving only 2.5 per cent fresh water that can be consumed by humans. However, most of that fresh water is frozen in icecaps and glaciers, or is located deep underground.

As Canadians, we are fortunate to have an abundant supply of fresh water. Home to only 0.5 per cent of the world's population, we have approximately nine per cent of the world's fresh water. But this is not the case for all people. According to UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kills at least 1.6 million children under the age of five every year.

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A global response

When the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were drafted in 2000, the world pledged to halve by 2015 the proportion of people living without access to sustainable, clean drinking water and adequate, basic sanitation. For a detailed assessment of progress made towards the goal read Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target—The Urban and Rural Challenge of a Decade, a report generated by the WHO and UNICEF.

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Make your voice heard

By volunteering or fundraising for an organization that is working to provide access to water and sanitation, you'll be helping to improve the quality of life for people around the world. Consider organizing a team to fundraise to build a well, a rainwater catching tank or a latrine.

For a list of organizations that accept volunteers, click here.

For fundraising ideas and contacts, click here.

Visit the links section to continue your research.

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