U.N. says lack of water infrastructure is “an affront to human conscience.”

The United Nations celebrated World Water Day on March 22, launching the International Water for Life Decade.
In its announcement the U.N. pointed out the huge shortfall that exists in providing basic water infrastructure. It said that 4,000 children are dying each day from water-borne diseases, and that 400 million young people lack the bare minimum of safe water they need to live. A “staggering” 2.6 billion people have no access to sewers or basic sanitation.
The international body estimates that each child needs about two buckets, or 20 litres, of safe water per day. Yet according to UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2005 report, 21 per cent of children in developing countries live without a safe water source within a 15 minute walk of their homes.
The U.N. also noted that an average Canadian uses six times as much water per day as an average Indian, and over 30 times more than a rural villager in Kenya.
“Our failure to provide a mere two buckets of safe water a day to every child is an affront to human conscience,” said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy.