I believe that the greatest immediate threat to humanity is water. Or rather, the lack of clean drinking water to much of the developing world – over 1 billion people are affected. The UN reports that in 2004, 2.2 million people died from unsafe drinking water – 90% of these were children under 5. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the worst affected areas.
Investment in water and waste water infrastructure is non-existant. There are reports that suggest that there could well be a war in the next 25 years over water. Sounds ludicrous, but if the problem isn’t addressed then I believe it could become a reality. I believe that to let such a situation develop would be truly ludicrous. I believe it would be a black mark against all of us who take our water supplies for granted.
I believe you can help. Today marks the launch of the End Water Poverty campaign. Please help get water poverty onto the agenda for the next G8 summit. If you can, donate to Water Aid. 19 cities in the US are holding Water Walks this Saturday, and there’s also a virtual walk if you can’t attend in person.
