WATER CRISIS
conserve water, conserve life
Water and Life
Water is essential to our health. A person can live about a month without food, but only one week without water. Our body is made up of 70 percent of water. Water regulates the human body by completing homeostasis to stay alive. Throughout the body it carries nutrients, transport oxygen to cells, cushions joints, protects organs and tissues, and removes wastes in the body. Clean, safe drinking water is scarce. Everyday people around the world spend their days searching for it.
Water pollution is causing sickness among many populations. because of exposure to bacteria and viruses. Cholera,typhoid fever, and water borne diseases are a main factor. Lack of basic sanitation is the leading cause of deaths in impoverished countries; Poverty can be the result of political instability, ethnic conflicts, climate change and other man-made cause.
Access to water is the foundation to all developments.
We use water for:
-
Agriculture
-
Hydroelectricity
-
Cooking
-
Cleaning (houses, communities)
-
Washing (clothes, bodies)
-
Recreation (pools)
According to The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO):
-
Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among children under five in the world. Around 1.5 million deaths each year - nearly one in five – are caused by diarrhea. It kills more children than malaria, AIDS, and measles combined.
-
Sanitation and proper hygiene are crucial to diarrhea prevention. It is estimated that improved sanitation facilities can result in an average reduction in cases of diarrhea of more than one-third. Washing hands with soap has been found to reduce diarrhea by more than 40%.
