WUNRN
Women & Children - Water & Sanitation
PROGRESS ON DRINKING WATER & SANITATION 2014 UPDATE REPORT – WHO & UNICEF – 78 Pages
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112727/1/9789241507240_eng.pdf
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WATER RESOURCES LINK:
http://water.org/news/resources/
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http://water.org/water-crisis/womens-crisis/
Every
minute a child dies of a water-related disease
Women
and children spend 140 million hours a day collecting water
1
in 9 people lack access to safe water
More
people have a mobile phone than a toilet
For
every $1 spent on water and sanitation there is a $4 economic return
Water Is a Woman’s Personal Issue
Empowered women will change the world
In many countries, women are responsible for finding and fetching water for
their families. All the water they need for drinking, washing, cooking,
cleaning. They walk miles, carry heavy burdens, wait for hours and pay
exorbitant prices. The work is back-breaking and all-consuming. Often the water
is contaminated, even deadly. In these instances, they face an impossible
choice – certain death without water or possible death from illness.
Once they are old enough, girls join this effort. They spend countless
hours trying to provide this basic life necessity.
Women also struggle most from the lack of adequate sanitation, the often
unspoken part of the water and sanitation crisis. The sanitation crisis for
women can be summed up in one word: ‘dignity.’ Around the world, fewer than one
person in three has access to a toilet. In many countries, it is not acceptable
for a woman to relieve herself during the day. They wait hours for nightfall,
just to have privacy. This impacts health and puts their safety at risk. About
half of all girls worldwide attend schools without toilets. The lack of privacy
causes many girls to drop out when they reach puberty.
The dual aspects of the water crisis – lack of water and of sanitation –
lock women in a cycle of poverty. They cannot attend school; they cannot earn
an income.
Providing Hope for Generations Ahead
Around the world, women are coming together to address their own needs for
water and sanitation. Their strength and courage transforms communities. With
the support of Water.org and its local partners, women organize their
communities to support a well and take out small loans for household water
connections and toilets. They support one another, share responsibility. These
efforts make an impact, taking us one step closer to ending the global water
crisis.
The results?
Education
·
Increased girls’
school attendance, level of education and literacy rates, as they no longer need to miss school to secure water for their families
and have adequate and separate sanitation facilities.
Health
·
Improved health for
women and girls who no longer have to delay
defecation and urination.
·
Reduced child and
maternal mortality as a result of access to safe
water, sanitation facilities and improved hygiene during child birth.
·
Increased dignity and
reduced psychological stress for girls and women
particularly when symptoms associated with menstruation, pregnancy and
childbirth can be managed discreetly.
·
Reduced physical
injury from constant lifting and carrying heavy loads of water.
·
Reduced risk of rape,
sexual assault, and increased safety as women and
girls do not have to go to remote and dangerous places to defecate or to fetch
water during the night.
Socioeconomic Opportunity
·
Increased recognition
of women as having skills and knowledge outside the scope of
their traditional roles.
·
Strengthened voice for
women in their families and communities to negotiate their own
needs.
· New opportunities for women’s employment as well as greater autonomy and independence.