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Take action: Clean water saves lives in Haiti
Since the tragic events of the Haiti earthquake, the country and its supporters from around the world have worked tirelessly to rebuild, revive and rejuvenate. From building orphanages and schools, to offering medical supplies and household items, Haiti is moving full-speed ahead to reclaim the vibrancy it once had. But it takes more than four walls and power drills to rebuild a country.Clean water is the key to saving 3 million lives a year but due to costs of filtration, clean water is a luxury Haiti can't afford. According to Partners in Health, diseases spread by unsafe water cause 3 million deaths a year. Young children are the most likely to suffer and die from these diseases, but with increased water projects changes can be made.
Water projects save lives, and while they do cost money, it's an investment that pays back. The World Health Organization estimates that every $1 invested in water and sanitation yields between $3 and $34 in reduced medical costs and increased productivity, depending on the region. In Haiti, a bout one-third of all Haitian children die before they reach the age of five, with 60 percent of all these deaths directly related to malnutrition and diarrheal disease. The lack of clean water is not only an environmental problem, but a matter of life and death.
In joint collaboration with Blog Action Day and the issue of water around the world, Gadling bloggers are talking about travel and water and ways to make the most out of both. As for me? I'm taking on the issue of water projects in torn countries like Haiti. While it would take many years and endless dollars to improve health in impoverished countries, companies like Partners in Health, for example, are working to make clean water available so they can improve lives immediately.
What can you do? Few people know that more than 1.1 billion people around the world don't have access to clean water - check out Blog Action Day 2010 and learn how you can help with the conservation of water around the world.
Filed under: Haiti, Ecotourism, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Camille Oct 15th 2010 10:00PM
Although immediate relief is necessary, it's important for water sources to be sustainable. I'm raising money for H20 for life, an organization that connects schools in developed areas to schools in less developed areas, in order to help raise funds for water, sanitation, and hygiene. We've been connected with a school in Mexico and are raising money to install a well. Creating a sustainable water system will save both money and people in the long run, it's just a matter of finding an affordable solution. I think that somehow, by exploring culture and raising awareness, people will be more sensitive to others' lack of water.
beks Oct 18th 2010 4:11PM
VIDEO on the human impact of climate change: http://bit.ly/9MjUiQ.
Water – whether too much or too little – is often the heart of the problem. http://bit.ly/9MjUiQ
William Nov 1st 2010 10:00PM
Water problem in Haiti is not that hard to fix. A friend of mine has a water
http://destinationnorthhaiti.com/?page_id=2
company in the Northern part of Haiti. Jsut minutes after the deadly quake, I told some of those who were in charged of sending doctors and aids down to Haiti follow a plan that i had but no one listened. My plan was to conduct an inventory of all the water suppliers in the region and used some of the money they received to buy water from the locals. Which would had been more cost efficient and at the same time profitable to the local economy there. There are so many sources of water being wasted every day because of no infrastructure.I'm organizing a tour to the Northern side of the country. The proceed will go help funding a school, church with access to clean drinking water. No, I do not have non-profit organization, I run a tour operator company in Haiti. http://destinationnorthhaiti.com/?page_id=2