The provision of drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities for everyone remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity Today. There are still over 1.1 billion people in the world who do not have adequate drinking water. Slightly over a third of the world’s population – 2.4 billion people – live without toilets or waste water disposal.
Dirty drinking water and inadequate hygiene levels are amongst the primary causes for the high child mortality rates in many countries. Wherever there is a lack of clean water and sanitation facilities, disease-causing organisms and parasites are able to spread with lightning speed.
A quarter of all deaths in children under five are caused by these diseases. According to estimates, around two million children die every year from diseases which cause diarrhoea. This means that almost 5,500 children die from these diseases every day.
What is the ProtectStar Foundation (PSF) doing about this situation?
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Access to clean drinking water: |
| The PSF promotes the digging of wells and the construction of water mains and water reservoirs. | |
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The Provision of Basic Hygiene: |
| The PSF supports the building of simple latrines and public toilets as well as the provision of sewage systems and regular refuse disposal. systems. | |
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Local Participation: |
| The PSF is especially keen to involve the local population in the construction and maintenance of their own wells and water pipelines so that they are able to repair them when required. | |
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Information: |
Wells and latrines alone are not enough. It is only if people are able to understand the importance of maintaining the rules of hygiene and are able to keep their water clean that they will be able to protect themselves effectively from diseases. |