Developing water and sanitation for a better future

Published on April 9, 2013 07:06 by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social

In January, the World Economic Forum declared water the second biggest risk the world faces today - ahead of weapons of mass destruction and food shortages. For some businesses this did not come as a surprise, since they were already addressing the many issues around water management, scarcity and access that threaten their future prospects. From HSBC to Unilever, Coca-Cola to Diageo, major international companies are developing water projects as they recognise the value of investing in water.

However, on the twentieth anniversary of UN World Water Day, water remains a pipe dream for many. Nearly 800 million people around the world are still without access to clean water, and a further 2.5 billion people do not have adequate sanitation.

The issues around water are particularly pronounced on my continent of Africa. Women waste over 40 billion hours collecting water every year. In addition, children miss classes and girls all too often drop out of school when they reach puberty because of a lack of proper toilet facilities.

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