WATER IS LIFE
Without water, life ceases to exist
Millennium Development Goals
In 2000 world governments signed up to the Millennium Development goals (MDGs) to halve world poverty by 2015, including targets to halve the proportion of people without safe water and adequate sanitation.
Over 2.6 billion people – two fifths of the world’s population – do not have access to sanitation. To reach the sanitation MDG, nearly 400,000 people (the population of Manchester) need to gain access to sanitation every single day – a 90% increase on performance since 1990.
1.1 billion people – one person out of every six in the world – do not have access to safe water. To reach the MDG on water, nearly300,000 people (the population of Newcastle) need to gain access to safe water every single day.
Annual spending on water and sanitation needs to double, from around $14billion to $30billion – a gap of $16bn which is the equivalent to 15% of Europe’s annual alcohol bill.
Between 2000 and 2004 the percentage of international aid dedicated to water and sanitation fell from 6% to 5%. Among G8 countries the drop was from 7% to 4%. UK bilateral aid fell from 3.8% to 0.86%.
Funds made available by central government to the local authorities with the responsibility to provide water and sanitation services are usually worth less than $1 per person per year.
