In today’s world, one out of every eight people, (roughly 884 million), lacks access to safe water. (WHO/UNICEF)

At least 2.6 billion people, (about 41 percent of the global population), do not have access to latrines or any sort of basic sanitation facilities. (UN WATER)

1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day, one every 20 seconds. (UNDP)

According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) study, every dollar spent on improving sanitation generates an average economic benefit of $7.

Water-related diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation remain humanity’s most serious public health threat, causing 90% of the sicknesses in developing countries. (WHO)

And in addition to these grim statistics, millions of women and children spend as many as six hours each day fetching and carrying water.

This prevents them from engaging in more productive work, attending school, or even having time for rest and relaxation. Browse our site and learn more about what WMU is doing to help remedy this situation.