March 22nd is World Water Day and so I’d like to emphasize the importance of water in public health and highlight some of the progress being made worldwide!!

According to the WHO Sessions on Water and Public Health: “Water has a profound influence on human health. At a very basic level, a minimum amount of water is required for consumption on a daily basis for survival and therefore access to some form of water is essential for life. However, water has much broader influences on health and well-being and issues such as the quantity and quality of the water supplied are important in determining the health of individuals and whole communities.”

The need for sanitation and access to water is absolutely vital to community health and should not be denied to anyone. Thankfully, there are many organizations and individuals who are working as hard as they can to ensure that very thing. A few global examples:

ICRC: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ICRC has just rebuilt the Kibirizi water system, putting clean drinking water within easy walking distance of 30,000 people.
In Haiti, ICRC has installed water bladders and storage tanks in the city, and has a long-term partnership with the city’s water board to promote more efficient and sustainable water distribution.

Mercy Corps: In Haiti, Mercy Corps water and sanitation team has conducted assessments at 28 separate sites in Port-au-Prince and is busy providing clean water systems and at least 500 safe latrines for more than 42,000 people.

World Water Relief: In Madagascar WWR is partnering with La Salette mission to provide clean water to 26 schools and orphanages.
In the Dominican Republic, WWR has the goal of bringing water to all eighteen Bateys (refugee/worker camps) in the area, and is well under way with the initial implementation of a system at Batey 7.

I’m very proud of the efforts of organizations like the one I serve in for their continued efforts to bring health and prosperity to every person.

photo courtesy of worldwaterrelief.org