World water crisis exposed

The latest Human Development Report rings a global alarm bell for water and sanitation.

Human Development Report 2006

The UN’s latest Human Development Report, Beyond scarcity: power, poverty and the global water crisis was launched on 9 November 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Detailing how the global water crisis is consigning large segments of humanity to lives of poverty, vulnerability and insecurity, the report rings a global alarm bell.

“For the 1.1 billion people living without safe water and for the 2.6 billion living without toilets this report demands an immediate response."

"Tragically for the 5,000 children who died yesterday from easily preventable water-related diseases, it is already too late. 5,000 will die today and everyday until governments around the world wake up to this emergency,” says Barbara Frost, WaterAid's CEO.

WaterAid backs the report’s recommendation for a Global Action Plan for Water. The plan requires donors to meet the funding gap for countries committing at least one percent of GDP to water and sanitation. In turn, WaterAid is calling for aid recipient countries to create and work to a framework of one country plan, one coordinating body and one monitoring and evaluating system.

This is the latest in a long line of Human Development Reports from the United Nations detailing the devastating effects of poverty. Yet very little happens in the way of action. Within the UN there are 23 separate agencies working on water: this demonstrates a shameful waste of time and resources.

“People living without water and sanitation don’t need 23 agencies to discuss and agree a strategy – they need one international water monitoring body taking urgent action that is prepared to name and shame those failing to deliver, be they donor or recipient governments.” Paul Hetherington, WaterAid at the Cape Town launch.

WaterAid welcomes the UN’s Human Development Report for addressing this crisis, but warns that this report will be empty words unless it inspires immediate action by governments.

For media enquiries please contact Paul Hetherington on +44 (0)7732 158128.

Download the report on the United Nations Development Programme's website  

WaterAid curtain raised the issues raised by the Human Development Report with the Trafalgar Square screening of The Long Walk and subsequent speaker event featuring Hilary Benn on 31 October 2006.

Find out more about WaterAid's Trafalgar Square event.