Lack of basic sanitation and safe water is an acute problem for the women
and girls who live in poor and overcrowded urban slums and in the rural
areas of the developing world. Many of them have to wait to relieve
themselves until dark, sometimes confronting the fear and the reality of
harassment and sexual assault. When crises hit and  personal safety and
security are diminished, even fetching water becomes risky for fear of
assault. In many countries, school attendance by girls is lower and dropout
rates are higher in schools that have no access to safe water and no
separate toilet facilities for boys and girls. If we do not focus on these
challenges, it will negatively affect our chances of delivering on a number
of Millennium Development Goals.