Inter Press Service: Keep Water Out of the Reach of Children
Behailu Shiferaw, communications specialist for WaterAid in the East Africa region

“…Across the world 844 million people still do not have access to clean water, and one in three people still live without adequate sanitation facilities. In Rwanda alone 43 percent of people live without basic access to water, while 38 percent of people do not have a decent toilet. Each year, over 900 children under five die from diarrhea. World leaders have come together at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the High Level Political Forum (HLPF), 9 July-18 July, to review the progress that has been made on Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) — to provide clean water and sanitation to everyone, everywhere. On current progress, Rwanda is on course to have universal access to clean water by 2082 and to give everyone access to a decent toilet by 2047. To achieve the transformation that [Rwanda’s Rweru Sector] has gone through [over the past three years] all around Rwanda, efforts on health and nutrition need to be integrated with action on water and sanitation. Global goal 6 on water, sanitation, and hygiene for all underpins progress towards the global goal on ending malnutrition and providing health for all” (7/10).