Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: [email protected]. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Notice to Readers: World Water Day, March 22, 2002
In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development designated March 22 of each year
World Water Day. This year's theme, "Water for Development," is organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA). The objective of World Water Day is to promote activities, such as the publication and diffusion of documents and
the organization of conferences and seminars, related to the conservation and development of water resources
(1).
Approximately 1.1 billion persons lack access to potable water, and 2.4 billion persons do not have acceptable
sanitation. Diarrhea accounts for approximately 4 billion episodes of illness and 2.2 million deaths every year; the greatest burden
of illness occurs among children aged <5 years. Safe water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene education can reduce
diarrheal disease deaths by an estimated average of 65% and related morbidity by 26%
(2).
In response to the need for safe drinking water, ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø, in collaboration with the CARE/ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø Health Initiative, the
Rotary Club of Estes Park, Colorado, the Gangarosa International Health Foundation, the ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø Foundation, and CARE,
produced Safe Water Systems for the Developing World: A Handbook for Implementing Household-Based Water Treatment and Safe
Storage Projects, a resource for program managers, technical staff, and other personnel in organizations involved in water
and sanitation projects. The Safe Water System is a water-quality intervention that uses simple, inexpensive technologies
to improve water quality at the point of use. Approximately 1,000 English handbooks have been distributed; French
and Spanish versions will be available later this year. ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø is developing a public health action plan for waterborne illness.
A meeting to gather input for the plan from key domestic and international stakeholders will be held starting March 22,
2002, to coincide with World Water Day.
Additional information about World Water Day is available from IAEA's World-Wide Web site,
. Information about the Safe Water System is available at
[email protected], telephone
(404) 639-2206, and at .
References
International Atomic Energy Agency. World Water Day 2002: Water for development. Available at
.
Accessed February 2002.
World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund. Global water supply and sanitation assessment 2000 report. Geneva,
Switzerland and New York, New York: World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund, 2000.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
References to non-ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites.
Disclaimer
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text
into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or
the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800.
Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
[email protected].
