• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to footer navigation

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE
Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

  • Home
  • About
    • Platform
    • FAQ
      • How does Ethical Culture make a difference in society?
      • What social life is there in Ethical Culture?
      • How is Ethical Culture religious?
    • Ethical Brew
    • Ceremonies
    • Philosophy
    • Constitution & Bylaws
    • Contact Us
  • Ethical Kids
    • Sunday School
      • Primary Class
      • Elementary Class
      • Junior Class
      • Senior Class
      • Sunday school FAQ
    • Youth Group
  • Leader
    • Leader Curt Collier
    • Leader’s Talks
    • Joe Chuman, Retired Leader
      • Talks by Dr Joseph Chuman
      • Speaking of Ethics: Living a Humanist Life
      • Wedding Officiant
  • Social Action
    • All Social Action Articles
    • Battling Racism
    • Environmental Action
    • Healthcare
  • Adult Ed
    • Job Club
    • Socrates Cafe
    • Ethical Culture Review of Books
  • News
    • President Column
    • UN Report
    • Platform Addresses
  • Events

The Global Water Crisis

April 13, 2012

Every year the UN issues a Human Development Report—really a summary of the state of the world, providing a store of information on a vast number of human welfare issues, with special attention on one. This year, 2006, the focus is on access to clean water and adequate sanitation. Like hunger and malnutrition, lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation is a silent crisis. But a silent crisis has its fallout of devastating health consequences for millions, most especially for children.

1.8 million children die each year as a result of diarrhoea. Deaths from diarrhoea in 2004, one year alone, were some six times greater than the average annual deaths from armed conflict from the whole of the 1990’s. Close to half of all people in developing countries suffer at any given time from disease, severe health problems such as cholera, typhoid, trachoma, parasitic worms. One billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to clean water. 40% of the world’s population, 2.6 billion, lack basic sanitation. Inevitably this results in large economic losses in terms of health spending and reduced productivity.

This report highlights the less well known but vital point that, in a large number of cases, the water needs have institutional and political causes, not created by scarcity. The problem is mostly man-made, either through mismanagement or political favoritism. The report notes that when it comes to water and sanitation the world suffers from a surplus of conferences and a deficit of credible action.

What would it cost to improve this situation with known and targeted action? The authors estimate that it would cost $10 billion a year to halve the percentage of people without access to safe drinking water and to provide them with simple pit latrines. But that cost is less than five days worth of global military spending and less than half of what rich countries spend each year on bottled water. It would save more than one million children’s lives over the next decade. The human development gains would be immense—economic benefits of about $38 billion annually. What a bargain!

Is there precedence for effective social action? Just over 100 years ago, infant mortality rates in Washington, DC were twice what they are today in sub-Saharan Africa. Water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery and typhoid accounted for 1 in 10 deaths in US cities in the late 19th century, with children the primary victims. In the UK and elsewhere, the industrial revolution helped people to become wealthier but not healthier. The poor moved from rural to urban areas to benefit from the boom, while overburdened cities turned into lethal open-air sewers. Epidemics of typhoid and cholera swept through cities like New Orleans and New York.

By the end of the 19th century, governments recognized that diseases associated with water and sanitation could not be isolated in the cities’ poor tenements. It was to the public’s interest to take action. In the UK and the US and elsewhere massive investments were made in effective sewage systems and purification of water supplies. No period of US history has witnessed such rapid declines in mortality rates.

The report gives examples of limited local community actions. In India and Pakistan slum dwellers associations have collaborated in innovative programs to bring sanitation to millions of people. The total sanitation campaign in Bangladesh has been scaled up from community based projects to highly effective national programs.

Cambodia, China, India and Zambia have also adopted national programs. Brazil was successful in promoting safer sewage systems, bringing sanitation to millions of people through community programs. Still, community led initiatives alone, though important, are not sufficient, and are not a substitute for government action. South Africa is an inspiring example of government action. Some 83% of the population now have access to clean water, compared to 59% at the end of apartheid in 1994. Now some 70% have access to acceptable sanitation. This is a substantial improvement compared to 48% in 1994 when access to water was used as a tool of apartheid by the white racist regime.

Governments should not be permitted to let millions die when targeted action can work. Mahatma Gandhi once commented that “the difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.” If you would like to help, UNICEF has a program targeted for children. Others can be found by Googling clean water and sanitation programs.

Phyllis Ehrenfeld is AEU’s National Service Conference Representative to the UN. Sylvain Ehrenfeld is IHEU Representative to the UN.

Primary Sidebar

Recent News

  • Society Gets Grant to Explore Concept of ‘Sacred Spaces’
  • Church-State Separation: Who Stands to Lose if the Wall Fails?
  • Two Grants Help Fund ‘Great NJ Science Show’
  • Meet Our Newest Members, Andy and Deborah Krikun
  • Struggle over Church-State Separation has Deep Roots in America

Sign up for our newsletter.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Ethical Brew

Being White And Its Hidden Assumptions

‘How Race Impacts Conservation’

About Us

Ethical Culture was founded to focus on community and good works, rather than personal salvation. Read more…

Archives

Footer

Connect with Us

Address: 687 Larch Ave, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: 201-836-5187
Email: [email protected]

Sign up for our newsletter.

 

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Society Gets Grant to Explore Concept of ‘Sacred Spaces’ January 31, 2023
  • Church-State Separation: Who Stands to Lose if the Wall Fails? January 30, 2023
  • Two Grants Help Fund ‘Great NJ Science Show’ January 29, 2023
  • Meet Our Newest Members, Andy and Deborah Krikun January 29, 2023
  • Struggle over Church-State Separation has Deep Roots in America January 28, 2023

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Topics

atheism atheist church book review children church-state separation civil rights climate change community compassion death democracy Doris Friedensohn Elizabeth Warren environment Ethical Brew Ethical Culture ethical education ethics family Felix Adler gender global warming happiness healthcare humanism humanist humanists human rights Israel Joseph Chuman meetinghouse Middle East politics racism religion Robert Gulack Secular Humanism social action Socrates Cafe Sunday School technology Trump unemployment world health youth

What We Do For Fun….

There's always time for play: celebrations, discussions (some in Spanish -- find Conversemos on our calendar on the fourth Tuesday of the month), hikes, picnics, cultural outings, and more. Come join us!
Kids get into the act
Diane running the show

Important Links

  • Member of the American Ethical Union
  • Ethical Brew
  • Sanctuary Committee
  • BC Gun Violence Prevention
  • NJ Website Designer
© 2021 | The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Copyright © 2023 · Kreativ Pro On Genesis Framework · The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County · Log in

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE