IFRC Global Policy 2006

Introduction:

The consumption of water and the generation of human waste are such commonplace aspects of human life that planning for the appropriate use or removal of them is often overlooked.
The evidence is abundant that failure to ensure an adequate supply of safe water or to arrange for safe disposal of excreta is a major contributing factor to disease transmission, ill health,
misery and death.

More than one billion people lack access to safe water and over three billion, half of humanity, do not have adequate sanitation facilities. The failure to promote a safe water
supply and healthy hygiene practices often lead to the transmission of infectious diseases. The WHO estimates that 2.5 million people died from diarrhoeal diseases in 2000, 80% of them
being children under the age of five. The number of people without adequate water and sanitation facilities could reach 5.5 billion in the next 20 years.