BETTER WATER, SANITATION KEYS TO EASING POVERTY - UN

clipped from www.planetaazul.com.mx OSLO, Norway; October 20, 2008.- Installing drinking water and sanitation would pay for itself by saving cash spent on treating diseases, would raise productivity lost to illness and create jobs, it said. More than 900 million people of about 6.7 billion on the planet lack access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion live without proper sanitation, it said. Rising populations and climate change could aggravate stress on water supplies. “Simply installing toilets where needed throughout the world and ensuring safe water supplies would do more to end crippling poverty and improve world health than any other measure,” the University said in a statement. Founded in 1973, the UN University conducts research into global problems that are of concern to the United Nations and its agencies. In 2002, the total number of deaths attributed to poor water, sanitation and hygiene was over 3.5 million, it said.