According to the World Health Organization, real progress has been made since 1970 in providing people with safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. In rural areas, for example, the percentage of people with safe water has trebled. Access to clean drinking water, however, is still a crucial problem in the developing world, especially Africa. Eighty per cent of the illnesses in Africa are due to poor water quality or to inadequate sanitary facilities. Diarrhoea, especially fatal to infants and small children, heads the list of afflictions.
Water is an indispensable requirement for health and for nearly all activities of human society.
Access to clean, safe water is a basic human right. The Coady Institute and its partner organizations in the developing world are helping disadvantaged communities gain access to safe water supplies using a variety of methods. Coady graduates are initiating projects ranging from the development of gravity flow systems and community wells to the creation of sub-surface dams which capture seasonal rains. They are also mobilizing people to protest against unequal access to water and other violations of basic human rights. Although the water potential in Nepal is enormous, with its innumerable streams and springs, water sources close to villages often pose a health threat.