Page - 10 - in Water, Energy, and Environment - A Primer

39 countries will still face serious freshwater shortages in mid-century. In the developing world it is estimated that waterborne diseases account for almost 80% of infections, causing more than 3 million premature deaths. Approximately 5000 children die from diarrhea every day (one every 17 seconds) andmany more are stunted in their development as a result of recurrent diarrheal episodes. In addition, several hundred million people are infected with the parasitic disease schistosomiasis (snail fever disease), an estimated 880 million children are in need of treatment for intestinal worms, and an estimated 1.9 million people are blind from trachoma (caused by infection with the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis) with an at-risk population in 41 countries of 190million (9). 1.6 ACTIONSTOINCREASEACCESSTO FRESHWATER Many voices have tried to sound the alarm on growing water issues, especially in recent years.WorldWater Forums, hosted by theWorldWater Council, have been held every three years since 1997. TheUNMillenniumSummit inNewYork in 2000 identified water availability as a critical global issue, as did the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. TheUN declared 2003 the International Year of Freshwater, and designated the period 2005–2015 the UN DecadeofWater. At its 2000 Summit the UN adopted a series ofMillennium Development Goals (MDGs), two of which dealt with water issues: ‘to reduce by half, by 2015, the proportion of people without access to (a) safe drinking water and (b) basic sanitation.’Assuming aworld population in 2015 of 7.2 billion implied that, by 2015, 1.6 billionmore peoplewould need to be supplied with access to safe drinking water and an additional 2.2 billion to basic sanitation. Even if achieved, these goals Water,Energy, andEnvironment–APrimer10