THE GLOBAL
WATER CRISIS
Millions live without access to safe water and available solutions are not sustainable.
THE WATER CRISIS
Billion
2.1
2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces (2).
Water is fundamental to sustaining life, yet the Global Water Crisis persists, impacting 785 million individuals worldwide who lack access to even a basic drinking water service (1). This crisis translates to 1 in 9 people globally struggling daily to secure a glass of clean water, let alone enough for cooking, cleaning, or growing food. The scarcity of this vital resource has far-reaching implications for every aspect of daily life, with the most significant being the health costs incurred due to absent or poorly managed water sources. Disturbingly, contaminated water claims 485,000 lives each year. At Project Maji, our mission is to reverse this entirely preventable statistic. Having already provided over 255,000 people with 180 million litres of safe water, we are dedicated to combating rural water poverty, ultimately aiming to save and transform lives.
Million
263
263 million people need to spend at least 30 minutes walking or queuing to collect water (3).
200
Million Hours
Women and girls around the world spend 200 million hours each day collecting water (4).
SUB-SAHARAN
WATER CRISIS.
ONLY
57%
Only 57% of the rural population in the region has access to an improved source of water (2).
Rural dwellers in the least developed regions bear the greatest brunt of water scarcity compared to urban populations in developed countries. There is no doubt that the access to water situation is worse in rural Sub-Saharan Africa than the rest of the world. Out of the global total, 336 million rural people are living without basic drinking water in the region. Globally, more than half of the 144 million people who still depend on surface water live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Among other things, this translates to the highest proportion of diarrhoeal deaths and the highest child mortality rate around the world (1).
Million
400
More than 400 million people in rural sub-Saharan Africa don't have the facilities to wash their hands with soap and water (3).
MORE THAN
40%
More than 40% of health facilities in the region have no water resources within 500 meters of their premises (4).
WATER HANDPUMP
FAILURES.
Long considered a symbol of development aid, the handpump has been the default solution to the water crisis for many years. It has served millions with safe water for decades. Yet, without a secure source of funds for ongoing maintenance, when this humble technology malfunctions, communities are left with no means to repair it. For this reason, the African continent is littered with thousands of defunct, rusted and abandoned water handpumps. It leaves rural communities with no choice but to go back to long, arduous walks to collect drinking water from unsafe, open water sources, putting their lives at risk. Alternative solutions are absolutely necessary, which is why Project Maji water charity addresses this issue through innovative technology and sustainable partnerships.
Million
184
184 million people in rural Sub-Saharan Africa depend on handpumps (1).
1 in 4
Handpump
1 in 4 handpumps in rural sub-Saharan Africa are nonfunctional at any point in time (2).
Billion
$1.2
The cumulative effect of a rural water supply failure in Africa over the past 20 years represents a lost investment in excess of 1.2 billion dollars (3).
