Today, October 15th, marks the first ever Global Handwashing Day (being celebrated in more than 70 countries around the world) and the fourth annual Blog Action Day, wherein bloggers from around the world post about a single topic of global interest, and this year's topic is water.
Every day, more than 5,000 children die from diarrhea, and this is largely due to lack of access to clean water and soap with which to practice hand hygiene. And over all, 42,000 people die every week from lack of access to clean water. With more than a billion people worldwide (that's one in eight human beings) lacking access to clean water, the proportions of this issue are staggering and the implications for public health, disease management, economic development, food production and simple survival are staggering.
From the dual perspectives of Blog Action Day's theme of water and Global Handwashing Day's emphasis on clean water to facilitate handwashing and the prevention of disease, there is a natural symbiosis. With drought and desertification becoming an increasing global problem, action is needed on all fronts to combat this issue and turn the tide, so to speak, on the global water crisis.
Here is the Blog Action Day YouTube video which is well worth watching for a quick synopsis of the movement's mission:
And please watch this video from The World Bank, and feel free to visit the Global Handwashing Day website to get involved.
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