“If water is fundamental to life and human dignity, no issue is more pressing for 663 million people for whom access is still lacking (United Nations, 2015). As World Water Day (March 22) reminds us, safe and readily available water is a human right and an important contributor to public health, whether it is used for drinking, washing, food production, or recreational purposes. Contaminated water and inadequate sanitation help transmit diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, and typhoid; diarrheal deaths due to unclean drinking water are estimated at 502,000 each year, most of them of young children (World Health Organization, 2015). Improved access to safe water and sanitation boosts economic growth, contributes to poverty reduction, and is highly relevant to achieving all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), from health and education to food security and environmental sustainability (World Bank, 2014).”
