Countries Set to "Exceed" Goals on Clean Water Access

Here's a phrase you don't often hear in discussions about the Millennium Development Goals. It turns out that countries are actually on track to meet -- and, in fact, are "expected to exceed" -- the MDGs on securing access to safe drinking water. Which means that around the world, the proportion of people living without regular access to clean water will (if all goes as expected) be halved by 2015. Already today, as you read this, 87% of all people are using safe drinking water sources.

That's great news, even if it's not evenly distributed. It's no accident that since 1990, the bulk of the population to have seen improvements in their drinking water supply (nearly half) happen to live in China and India. By contrast, 37% of people living in sub-Saharan Africa haven't seen a measurable improvement in their water supplies. Urban-rural disparities (the former enjoy better access to water) likewise remain pronounced.

On the sanitation side, the picture deteriorates. Globally, some 2.6 billion people -- nearly 40% of the world's population -- still don't have access to improved sanitation. The overwhelming majority of them live in Asia (on the list of the countries home to the greatest number of people who are still forced to defecate in public, India, Indonesia and China occupy the top three slots). Sixteen percent of the world live in situations where they have to defecate in public, and the UN reports that unless "huge efforts" are enlisted, the world will fall badly short of the MDGs' sanitation targets. (Note: even if the world hit the targets, 1.7 billion people would still be without access to basic sanitation.)

In Western donor countries, water often seems so basic a commodity that it barely merits thinking about (particularly in the heavily subsidized U.S.). But if pneumonia and diarrhea are two of the biggest killers of children in the world, poor water and bad sanitation are their quiet enablers. Every day, unsafe water and sanitation claim the lives of 4,000 children.

There are plenty of organizations online that want to help you figure out how to add your weight to the fight for clean water around the globe. You can check out more details on how to make an impact with GiveWell (which recommends both Water for People and Water.org as good avenues) -- please leave any of your other tips in the comments, as well.

Photo Credit: Marcin Chylinski