World Water
VICTORY: Big Win in Mexico on the Human Right to Water
Get the Facts
- According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.7 billion people still lack access to clean water. 2.3 billion people suffer from water-borne diseases each year.
- While the demand for water is on the rise, the supply is shrinking. Water-intensive agriculture, population growth, industrial pollution, breakneck development and other ecological threats are depleting freshwater supplies.
- The World Bank and other dominant international financial institutions condition their loans on privatization and increased cost recovery – which often requires charging water fees from those who make less than $2 per day.
- The result of privatization in numerous countries has been disastrous – less access to water for the poor, extremely high tariffs, and poor water quality.
Food & Water Watch works with coalition partners in communities around the world that are facing the privatization of water. Our goal is to defend water as a public resource, to ensure access to safe and affordable water, to help to build a strong coalition against privatization, and to promote the recognition of the right to water internationally.
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Right to Water
VICTORY FOR WATER JUSTICE AT THE UN!
The UN General Assembly voted on the right to water and sanitation resolution on July 28, 2010. While the resolution is not legally binding, it is a huge step in the right direction. Our network of allies has been fighting for over 10 years toward legally binding recognition of the human right to water at the UN– we are clearly on our way! Read more about the victory in our press release.
When water becomes an expensive market commodity, social cohesion erodes in neighborhoods and communities. The result is that basic rights become privileges that are earned only by the depth of one’s pocket. Read more about our right to water.
Bank Watch
Food & Water Watch is keeping an eye on international financial institutions that provide water loans to governments in developing countries. Institutions like the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank place conditions on loans requiring privatization of utilities and increased consumer prices for essential services. Learn more about international bank policy.
Meet Maude Barlow
Meet Maude Barlow, board chair of Food & Water Watch, and learn more about her work on behalf of the global water justice movement.