Water for All

" World leaders meeting in August are being urged to ensure that the rich/poor and urban/rural divides don't determine who has access to clean water "

Global leaders are gathering in Sweden this week to discuss water and sanitation issues. Hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute, this week-long event is being held under the banner

"Responding to Global Changes: Accessing Water for the Common Good" and serves as a forum to discuss challenges and solutions to water-related issues.

Improved access to water and sanitation can have a widespread positive impact, improving health, child education, and poverty, and reducing conflict -- and important gains have been made over the past 20 years. But as the world's population grows and the competition for clean water intensifies, these goals are now threatening to drift farther away.

"Every day approximately 4,500 children die before their fifth birthday due to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene," says the United Nations Children's Fund. "Access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and improved hygiene is crucial for infants and children to get the best possible start in life.

The United Nations declared the years 2005 to 2015 the international decade to take action on water. Although 87 percent of the global population now has access to safe drinking water , a lot of work remains to bring clean water to the other 1 billion people.

In urban areas, coverage is now over 95 percent. But only 58 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa had satisfactory access to water in 2006, notes OneWorld.net's Water and Sanitation topic guide.