Few problems in the world have a much broad and deep impact as that of unsafe drinking water. The implications of this problem are staggering when one considers the sheer number of preventable deaths and diseases. Behind these numbers are scores of people who care for those suffering from waterborne diseases. Mothers who mourn lost children. Children who miss school because they have to fetch water from long distances.

If no human action is taken, as many as 135,000,000 will die from water-related diseases by the year 2020. A child dies every twenty seconds due to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation and hygiene. - UNICEF

• This year, about 2,200,000 children will die of dehydration caused by diarrhea. 80% of them in the first two years of their life.
• Every year, an estimated 19 million children under five die from diarrheal diseases.
• 80% of all sickness in the world is attributable to unsafe water and sanitation. - WHO
• In the world's poorest countries - over 5,000 children die each day. Poor water quality contributes to almost 90% of these deaths.
• Worldwide, 884 million people live without clean water and 2.5 billion people live without toilets every day of their lives.
• People suffering from preventable diseases caused by unsafe water and inadequate sanitation occupy half of the hospital beds in the developing world.
• Current evidence shows that 1.7 million deaths could be avoided each year by providing access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. The single most effective intervention is hand washing with soap, which would cut diarrhea deaths in half.
• If we did nothing other than provide access to clean water, without any other medical intervention, we could save 2 million lives a year.
• Women and female children spend more than 200 million hours each day collecting water from distant often polluted sources.

Information courtesy of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNESCO Water Portal, the Fresh Water Society, EDGE OUTREACH and WaterAid.