Water is life. Clean drinking water improves and protects health, gives children the opportunity to go to school permanently, empowers women, strengthens the local economy and makes a better future possible. Yet many people around the world do not have secure access to this precious commodity.
Water
771 million people worldwide lack safe access to clean drinking water. Of these, some 489 million people lack access to any drinking water infrastructure. 1
Sanitation
3.6 billion people worldwide have no secure access to sanitation. Around 1.7 billion people do not even have access to basic sanitation. 2
Hygiene
2.3 billion people worldwide do not have secure access to hygiene facilities. 3
Access to clean drinking water changes everything:
Diseases caused by contaminated water are responsible for more deaths than all forms of violence, including wars.
Access to water must therefore be ensured, and the water taken must be and remain clean. In holistic projects, this is made possible above all by sanitation and hygiene measures.
Women and girls worldwide spend 200 million hours a day fetching drinking water.
Without a water connection in your own house, fetching water is time-consuming. Women in particular gain time with a nearby well that can be used for self-determined tasks.
Access to clean drinking water helps keep children in school longer, especially girls.
Lack of access to water is a reason to stay away from school. Girls in particular, on the other hand, benefit from holistic projects that think about sanitation and hygiene components in addition to water (WASH). Because otherwise the first menstruation is a common reason for not attending school.
Access to clean drinking water gives women and girls more freedom. Time gained can be used purposefully: They can go to school, start their own businesses and have more influence on their own future.