Demand Universal Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation
They seem like the most basic of rights. Clean drinking water. A sanitary toilet. Two elementary needs that are essential to health and dignity. Yet, around the world, a significant portion of the global population lacks access to these simple, vital necessities.
In 2014, 748 million people do not have access to a reliable safe source of clean drinking water. 2.5 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation.
When water is unsafe and sanitation non-existent, water can kill. Globally, waterborne illnesses are the second leading cause of death for children under five, killing 1,400 children every day.
We've made some progress. Since 1990, sanitation coverage in developing regions has increased by 21 percent and water coverage by 17 percent. Thanks to the work of UNICEF and its partners, more than 2.1 billion people have gained access to clean drinking water.
But UNICEF’s vision calls for far more dramatic progress—nothing short of universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.
By 2030 we want to to achieve universal access to basic drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for households, schools and health facilities.
These goals are ambitious, but achievable.
Meeting these goals — achieving the vision of universal access by 2030 — requires putting the needs of children and families first, regardless of geography, ethnicity or income level.
Take action today and support UNICEF’s vision for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
I support UNICEF’s vision of universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2030.
I believe water and sanitation are basic rights for all people, not luxuries. While great progress has been made in improving access to water and sanitation, too many people are deprived of these basic rights. I am committed to UNICEF’s vision of a world in which access to water and sanitation is universal, a world in which children do not die from easily preventable water-borne diseases.
I call on governments, policy makers, communities, businesses and individuals to heed the recommendations of experts in progressively eliminating inequalities to access.
I call on governments, policy makers, communities, businesses and individuals to place their full determination behind the effort to provide basic drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for households, schools and health facilities, and to work to eliminate open defecation around the world.
I share UNICEF’s vision of universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
[Your comment here]
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
