Simon Meets with WaterAid Representatives

Simon Reevell, Member of Parliament for Dewsbury, has met with representatives of WaterAid to discuss the international water and sanitation crisis that is taking the lives of 4,000 children every day.  The local MP took the opportunity to hear first hand what WaterAid is doing to help address this crisis.  Since the international organisation was founded 30 years ago, it has reached nearly 16 million people with safe water and 11 million people with sanitation.

According to the World Health Organisation, for every £1 invested in water, sanitation and hygiene, there is an economic return of £8.  This is mainly through saving time and reducing productive days lost to illness.  A key benefit of bringing water, sanitation and hygiene services to communities is that more children, particularly girls, are able to attend schools as they aren’t busy collecting water.  Another benefit is that it results in fewer patients for family members, doctors and nurses to treat.

Barbara Frost, Chief Executive of WaterAid, said, “It is staggering that nearly four in every ten people don’t have a toilet and one in eight doesn’t have clean water.  As well as the tragic human cost in lives lost and poor health, this tragedy is holding back economic growth in countries across the world.  This is why we are so pleased that Simon Reevell has taken the time to learn more about these issues and how we want to work with the Government to tackle them.”

After meeting the WaterAid team, Simon said, “A lack of clean drinking water is having a devastating impact across the globe.  More children die in Sub-Saharan Africa every year because of diseases caught from unsafe water and poor sanitation than are killed because of AIDS, malaria and measles combined.  During a recent trip to Africa, David Cameron highlighted that we need to get the continent’s economy growing.  Poor sanitation costs Sub-Saharan Africa around 5% of its GDP every year which is equivalent to the amount of aid the continent currently receives from western nations. If we solve this crisis, it would be a major spur to growth in African economies.  This is why I welcome WaterAid’s vital and valuable investment in water, sanitation and hygiene for the world’s poorest.”

Last year, the UK Government directly provided 1.5 million people with access to clean drinking water and 800,000 with sanitation.