World Ark Magazine - May/June 2008 - (Page 11)

The word “water” appears nowhere in the United Nation’s eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG), but it is central to each of them. Former Secretary-General Kof i Annan said that access to water and sanitation is fundamental to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The following excerpt from the U.N.’s official “Water for Life Decade” publication outlines a few of the challenges we face in making safe water accessible to all. Why Water Matters Without improved access to clean drinking water and sanitation, the overarching goal of poverty reduction cannot be achieved. The economic consequences resulting from a lack of clean water and improved sanitation are often underestimated. Hygiene-related illnesses sap economic growth and cost billions of working days each year. Time spent collecting water from far-flung sources prevents women from doing other productive work and girls from attending school. Improving access to safe water and sanitation is critical not only to reducing poverty but also to achieving the Millennium targets for health, including reducing maternal and child mortality and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases. More than 2 million people in developing countries, most of them children, die each year from diseases associated with unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. The Millennium Declaration includes a commitment to achieving gender equality and empowering women. Progress on water and sanitation is essential to that empowerment. Women and girls suffer the most from a lack of clean water and private sanitation facilities. Women and girls must fetch and manage water for family and other uses. On average, women and girls walk four miles each day, carrying 5 gallons of water. If schools lack adequate sanitation facilities, girls often will not attend. Considering the finite nature of freshwater resources and increasing demand, the need to protect and manage water resources properly is crucial. Through the Millennium Development Goals, governments have committed to ensuring environmental sustainability and reversing the loss of environmental resources. reducing poverty and addressing unsustainable consumption patterns are critical to halting environmental degradation and ensuring environmental sustainability. scarcity 3.4 billion Number of people expected to be living in countries defined as water-scarce by 2025. May/June 2008 | WOrlD Ark www.heifer.org 11 http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - May/June 2008

World Ark Magazine - May/June 2008 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked & Answered Why Water Matters The Carbon Hoofprint From Farm to Table Healing History Mixed Media Heifer Spirit Heifer Bulletin World Ark Market Calendar First Person

World Ark Magazine - May/June 2008

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