Water Facts

Kenya’s natural water resources do not provide adequate delivery of water to the various regions of the country. This leaves most of the population without any fresh water. Rapid urbanization has also pushed poor urban dwellers to the slums, where there is no water or sanitation, and overcrowding exacerbates the already hazardous health conditions.

Water pathogens are a huge health problem in Kenya, as the people have been left unprotected against sporadic epidemics such as cholera and parasitic worms. The rate of exposure is extremely high because the water is not only contaminated at the basins and pumps where water is collected, but the containers are almost always “found,” second-hand objects, often previously used for oil, fertilizer, or waste.

  • 844 million people do not have access to clean and safe water. 37% of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa

  • 159 million people drink water directly from surface sources, such as streams or lakes

  • Half of the world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering from a water-related disease.

  • The average container for water collection in Africa, the jerry can, weighs over 40 lbs when full.

  • Access to sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa is, in fact, declining with only 31% of people able to access a toilet – 6% less than reported in 2006.

  • Hand-washing with soap at critical times can reduce the incidence of diarrhea by up to 47%.

  • Childhood malnutrition causes about 35% of all deaths of children under the age of five worldwide, it is estimated that 50% of childhood malnutrition is associated with repeated diarrhea or intestinal infections as a result of unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, or insufficient hygiene.

  • Around 842,000 people (361,000 children) die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation – that’s over 2,000 people a day.

  • Lack of safe water and sanitation costs Sub-Saharan Africa around 5% of its Gross Domestic Product each year.

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For $65 you can provide 1,000,000 gallons of clean, safe water for 25 people.

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