The World Health Organization says that more than 2 billion people have gained access to an improved source of drinking water since 1990.
According to a publication released by the World Health Organization, an arm of the United Nations that monitors the health and well-being of people around the world, more than 2 billion people have gained access to an improved source of drinking water since 1990.
An “improved” water source is a water source that is likely not to be susceptible to outside contamination, especially by human waste, according to the UN’s WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program.
In addition to improved water sources, about 4 billion people have achieved the gold standard in clean water access: clean water piped directly into their homes. That’s well over half the world’s population.
This extraordinary step toward providing universal access to clean water has been the result of a massive global effort on behalf of governments, philanthropists, and nongovernmental organizations.
[Christian organizations have been part of those efforts. For example, Lutheran World Relief has worked on improving access to clean water through investing in agricultural irrigation, water treatment technologies, sanitation facilities, and watershed protection. For potable water, LWR uses “gravity-flow systems that bring water to household taps; construction of sub-surface dams to increase water tables near bore holes,” and other methods, according to its website.
The Episcopal Relief & Development Clean Water program has also partnered with local organizations to build wells, piping systems, water stations, rainwater catchment tanks, and other projects, its website states.]