Unfortunately, our friends in Oaxaca City have too much company. More than 2.5 billion people on this planet--half of the population in developing regions in the world, do not have access to basic sanitation. Despite being included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) more than a decade ago, "Ensuring Environmental Sustainability" has a long way to go. This 7th MDG is nowhere near being achieved, despite the targeted year of 2015 being only 3 1/2 years away! In fact, sanitation is among the Millennium Development Goal targets lagging farthest behind.
The eight Millennium Development Goals – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions.
As scores of people continue to suffer the inhumane effects of blackwater and other extreme unsanitary conditions, Water for Humans is asking you to help save lives! We invite you to learn more about how your talents and time can help further the cause of Water for Humans to provide low-cost, clean water solutions to under-served populations while ensuring that water remains a local, public resource. You can contact Rick McKenney, co-founder of Water for Humans, at rickm@waterforhumans.org to find out how to get involved. Thank you!
UN Secretary-General launches the “Sustainable Sanitation: Five-Year Drive to 2015”
United Nations, 21 June 2011—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, along with UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, Ugandan Minister of Water & Environment the Hon. Maria Mutagamba, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, today launched the “Sustainable Sanitation: Five-Year Drive to 2015” (http://www.sanitationdrive2015.org), a push to speed up progress on the Millennium Development Goal target of improving global sanitation by 2015.
The launch took place on June 21 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, with members of the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation and other dignitaries in attendance.
The Millennium Development Goals include a target of halving, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to basic sanitation. With 2.6 billion people – half of the population in developing regions – still without access to improved sanitation, the target is lagging far behind, and without urgent and concerted action globally it will be out of reach.
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