What is World Water Day?

World Water Day is an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the plight of the more than 1 billion people world wide that lack access to clean, safe drinking water. Celebrated since 1993, World Water Day was designated in 1992 when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a resolution. With each passing year, the observance has grown larger and stronger.

In many ways though, World Water Day is still a relatively unknown event. Even with the support of the UN and efforts by leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and committed individuals, World Water Day is today at a similar stage as Earth Day was in the early 1970’s – important but relatively unknown.

What is the water crisis?

The world water crisis is one of the largest public health issues of our time. Nearly 1.1 billion people (roughly 20% of the world’s population) lack access to safe drinking water. The lack of clean, safe drinking water is estimated to kill almost 4,500 children per day. In fact, out of the 2.2 million unsafe drinking water deaths in 2004, 90% were children under the age of five. Water is essential to the treatment of diseases, something especially critical for children.

This problem isn’t confined to a particular region of the world. A third of the Earth’s population lives in “water stressed” countries and that number is expected to rise dramatically over the next two decades. The crisis is worst in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The world water crisis is created by a confluence of factors including climate and geography, lack of water systems and infrastructure, and inadequate sanitation, something that 2.6 billion people (40% of the world’s population) lack access to. Some of these countries have additional problems, including high levels of arsenic and fluoride in drinking water.

Many women and young girls in rural areas in Sub-Saharan African and other parts of the world must trek as much as six miles everyday to retrieve water for their families. Due to this manual labor, such women and children are prevented from pursuing an education, maintaining their households or earning additional income.

Thus, the lack of clean water, coupled with the lack of basic sanitation and a dearth of hygiene education, is one of the largest obstacles to progress and development in these regions and across the world. The UN has prioritized water access among its Millennium Development Goals because it contributes to such widespread suffering, including increased poverty, high child mortality rates, depressed education levels, and political instability. Without question, the world water crisis condemns billions of people to a perpetual struggle to survive at the subsistence level, thus inspiring millions to engage and alleviate this problem.

For more facts on the water crisis, click here.

How to Get Involved in World Water Day

You can help. Sign up to participate in a live event, and / or the Virtual Walk for Water – a strong, symbolic act to demonstrate your support for Action on the world water crisis. The hope is that you’ll help spread the word and take a moment to lend your voice to this important issue.

Walk For Water: Join millions as they observe World Water Day by participating in one of the major events planned in New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle as well as select local communities on March 22nd, 2008. The Walk for Water is inspired by the example of women in water stressed countries who often walk 6 miles each day just to get water for their family.

Virtual Walk For Water: If there is not a Walk in your area or you can't attend in person, show your support by joining the global "Virtual Walk For Water" from the comfort of your home or office. Your name will be included in a symbolic water jug to be carried by a participant in one of the local Walk for Water events.

Create An Advocate Page: Express yourself. Tell the world why the world water crisis matters to you, in your own words, pictures, and links. Use this page to invite friends and family to join you on World Water Day 2007. The combined modest actions of many individuals can make an extraordinary difference. Help raise awareness of this important global public health crisis.

Invite a Friend: Spread the news about World Water Day. The layout of the invite includes a powerful image and fact about the water crisis, and gives you the option of writing a personalized message to your friend.

The Tap Project: Beginning Sunday, March 16 through Saturday, March 22, restaurants will invite their customers to donate a minimum of $1 for the tap water they would normally get for free. For every dollar raised, a child will have clean drinking water for 40 days. So check out what restaurants in your area are involved in the project and go get your grub on to support the cause!
What about after March 22nd: Millions of people around the world don't have access to clean drinking water. It's a problem they deal with everyday. So make sure you don't forget about the cause after World Water Day. There are little things you can do to conserve water on a daily basis.