Nothing is more important for health than a supply of pure water. Diarrhoea, caused by a lack of safe drinking water, is the biggest killer of children and a major cause of sickness in adults world-wide. At any one time, half the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases.
Approximately 40% of the world’s population do not have access to safe drinking water. The challenge of meeting this human right and basic need is not getting any easier. Water is becoming more scarce. A report prepared for World Water Day on 22 March 2003 warns of a looming water crisis. "Over the next 20 years, the average supply of water world-wide per person is expected to drop by a third," it says. "If policies do not change, water scarcity will not only exacerbate existing health and environmental problems, it will also threaten food production and security."
The third World Water Forum, which took place in March 2003, may eventually come to be seen as a turning point. The hitherto message that dams, expensive technology and privatisation were the only answer to solving the crisis was carefully dissected at the meeting and shown to be wanting. Concrete alternatives were demonstrated by health advocates offering a consistent vision of another way forward. Whether governments and aid agencies have listened to the plea for community involvement and low-cost technology will be revealed in the months to come. What is certain is that civil society is united in presenting practical alternatives to private sector, high technology solutions.
