GEF

Unit 4  |  The Global Water Crisis 95 Water scarcity, low water quality, and waterborne disease remain large and growing epidemics in the developing world. In the worst cases, residents of villages and slums walk miles each day to fill water cans from surface water that is often con- taminated with bacteria and other disease agents. Usually this laborious task falls to women and children, curtailing opportu- nities for education or productive employment. Even when water supplies are adequate, contaminated water and waterborne disease remain enormous problems. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that waterborne diseases are responsible for approximately 1.8 million deaths each year, 90 percent of which are children under the age of five. Although these numbers have improved in recent decades due to more widespread emergency disease treatment, they clearly represent a global failure to meet basic human needs. Waterborne diseases such as cholera kill thousands of people around the globe every year. Without adequate water infrastructure, natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes also become much more WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) The principal global orga- nization dedicated to improving public health.